urmit    at     ali 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY; 


WITH 


AN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  DIFFERENT  BEEEDS, 


AND  GENERAL 


DIRECTIONS  IN  REGARD  TO  SUMMER  AND  WINTER  MANAGEMENT,  BREED- 
ING, AND  THE  TREATMENT  OF  DISEASES. 


BY    HENRY    S.    RANDALL,    LL 

IATB  SBCRETAKT  OF  STATE  OF  THE  STATS  OF  MEW  TORS. 


WITH   HIS   LETTER  TO   THE  TEXAS   ALMANAC   OX 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  TEXAS, 


GEO.  W.  KENDALL'S  ON  SHEEP  RAISING-  IN  TEXAS. 


Neiv-York: 
JUDD     &     COMPANY, 

245    BROADWAY. 


\         '          I 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1860,  by 

C.  K  SAXTOtf,  BARKER  &  CO., 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of  Ne^  "York. 


PREFACE. 


So  full  and  complete  is  the  exposition  of  tlie  subject  as  discussed 
in  the  following  pages,  and  so  clearly  are  the  scope  of  the  work  and 
the  circumstances  which  prevailed  with  its  accomplished  author,  to 
pass  it  through  our  hands  to  the  public,  explained  in  his  own  "  INTRO- 
DUCTION," that  only  in  compliance  with  a  common  custom  in  book- 
making,  might  any  thing  have  been  deemed  necessary  in  the  way  of 
preface ;  were  it  not  to  acquit  ourselves  of  the  obligation  to  tender 
thus  publicly  to  Col.  RANDALL,  not  our  own  thanks  merely,  but  those 
of'  the  agricultural  community,  for  the  great  benefit  which  must  ensue 
to  it,  in  the  proportion  that  this  instructive  contribution  to  the  stock 
of  our  agricultural  knowledge  and  literature  may  command  the  atten- 
tion to  which  it  is,  on  every  account,  so  well  entitled. 

An  agricultural  correspondence,  reaching  far  back,  and  spreading 
widely  over  the  Southern  States,  to  which  has  been  more  recently 
added  considerable  extent  of  personal  observation,  had  with  us^ 
already  established  the  conviction,  that  in  no  other  part  of  our  coun- 
try, perhaps,  does  there  exist  a  resource  at  once  so  fruitful,  and  so 
little  availed  of,  as  that  which  is  possessed  in  that  region,  for  the  pro- 
secution of  this — one  of  the  most  interesting  and  important  branches 
of  Husbandry  that  any  country  can  enjoy. 

But  while  it  has  been  easy  to  perceive  this  defect  so  apparent  in  their 
agricultural  economy,  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  a  national  loss 
of  no  inconsiderable  magnitude ;  it  was  not  so  easy  to  expose,  as 
Col.  Randall  has  done,  the  fallacy  of  the  difficulties  that  were  sup- 
posed to  stand  in  the  way,  or  to  indicate  how  the  real  impedimenta 
which  do  exist  may  be  overcome,  or  materially  mitigated. 

Something  of  these  imaginary  difficulties,  for  successful  Sheep 
Husbandry,  may,  as  we  believe,  be  assumed  to  have  their  origin  in  the 
prejudices  engendered  in  the  minds  of  Southern  agriculturists,  by  the 
sweeping  condemnation  of  it  to  be  found  in  the  celebrated  and  deserv- 
edly popular  essays  of  ARATOR,  by  Col.  John  Taylor — clarum  vane- 
rabile  nomen !  and  it  may  be  that  these  prejudices  are  referable  in  a 
degree,  also,  to  the  concurrent  opinions  of  the  no  less  celebrated  John 
Randolph,  "  of  Roanoke,"  who,  even  on  the  floor  of  Congress,  gave 
them  utterance  in  vehement  and  bitter  denunciation  against  the  harm- 


PREFACE. 


less  animal  itself — going  so  far  in  his  animosity  to  it,  and  to  all  en- 
couragement of  the  great  industry  which  it  was  formed  to  subserve, 
as  to  declare,  that  he  would  at  any  time  go  out  of  his  way  "  to  kick  a 
theep  !"  Nor  would  it  be  unreasonable  to  apprehend  that  these  im- 
pressions against  the  policy  and  profit  of  sheep-breeding,  as  an  import- 
ant object  of  attention  for  the  Southern  land-holder,  have  taken  root 
the  more  kindly  in  the  minds  of  a  people  unaccustomed,  if  not  na- 
turally averse  to  that  careful  and  minute  attention  which  the  successful 
prosecution  of  this  business  demands — a  people  whose  sons,  it  may  be 
feared,  still  find  it  easier,  if  not  more  commendable,  to  follow  in  the 
venerated  footsteps  of  their  sires,  than  to  encounter  for  themselves  the 
labor  of  investigation,  and  the  trouble  (together  with  some  expense) 
of  new  arrangements  incident  to  every  new  employment  of  labor  and 
capital.  The  general  impression,  in  fact,  is,  (the  reader  will  judge 
how  far  it  is  just,)  that  cultivators-  of  the  soil  everywhere  are,  of  all 
classes,  the  least  apt  to  embark  in  any  new  enterprise,  however  pro- 
mising. They  talk  and  talk  about  it,  but  rarely  go  about ;  and  per- 
haps it  may  be  better  that  it  should  be  so ;  yet  it  is  well  to  remember 
that  precipitancy  is  one  thing,  and  torpor  quite  another !  We  once 
knew  a  farmer  (so  called)*  in  Calvert  county,  who,  being  told,  as  he  sat 
toasting  himself  in  the  chimney  corner  on  a  cold  winter's  night,  that 
fhe  house  was  on  fire  !  without  moving,  from  his  seat,  answered,  «  call 
the  people!" 

In  opposition  to  all  that  has  been  urged  or  imagined  against  Sheep 
Husbandry  in  the  South,  on  the  score  either  of  ill-adapted  climate, 
deficiency  of  suitable  forage,  want  of  adequate  demand  for  wool,  or 
other  obstacles,  the  whole  subject  has  been  so  admirably  and  thoroughly 
canvassed  in  the  work  here  offered,  that  further  argument  would  be 
superfluous ;  otherwise  we  might  oppose  to  the  hitherto  prevailing  be- 
lief, if  not  prejudice,  the  experience  of  some,  on  a  limited  scale,  and 
the  well-settled  opinion  of  yet  many  more  among  the  most  enlightened 
of  our  acquaintances  in  that  region — gentlemen  uniting  ample  oppor- 
••unities  with  close  habits  of  observation  on  all  questions  of  rural 
economy,  and  who  have  not  hesitated  to  express  the  confident  belief, 
that  profitable  and  interesting  as  has  been  the  growing  of  cattle  in 
western  Virginia,  an  equal  amount  of  capital  and  attention,  devoted 
to  sheep  and  wool  growing  in  the  same  section  of  country,  would  bo 
yet  more  remunerating.  Looking  for  reliable  information  yet  further 
eouth,  and  back  to  a  period  more  remote,  even  anterior  to  our  decla- 
ration of  independence,  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  quote  an  evi- 
dently careful  and  intelligent  author  of  a  work  on  the  climate  and 
products  of  each  of  the  then  English  colonies.  Speaking  of  Georgia, 
and  her  well-ascertained  adaptation  to  the  growth  of  silk,  the  vine, 
the  olive,  mr.dder  and  wool,  he  remarks :  "  Wool,  we  [England]  take 


PREFACE. 


in  large  quantities  from  abroad,  because  it  is  of  a  kind  we  cannot  pro- 
duce in  England :  our  colonies  on  the  continent  of  North  America, 
South  of  New  York,  produce  a  wool  entirely  similar  to  the  Spanish. 
No  staple  they  could  produce  would,  therefore,  be  more  advantageous 
to  Great  Britain.  It  is  well  known  that  a  piece  of  fine  broadcloth 
cannot  be  made  without  Spanish  wool ;  it  is  also  known  that  the 
Spaniards  have  of  late  years  made  great  efforts  to  work  up  their  own 
wool ;  if  they  should  succeed,  or  if  they  should  by  any  other  means 
prevent  the  export  of  it,  our  woollen  fabrics,  though  they  might  not 
be  stopped,  would  at  least  be  burdened  with  a  fresh  expense  and  a 
new  trouble ;  all  which  would  be  prevented  by  encouraging  the  import 
of  wool  from  America :  and  at  the  same  time  that  this  good  effect  was 
wrought,  another  would  be  brought  about,  in  cramping  the  manufac- 
tures of  the  colonies" 

Unfortunately  for  the  agricultural  interest  of  our  country  particu- 
larly, the  desire  to  "  cramp  the  manufactures  of  the  colonies,"  here  so 
candidly  avowed  as  the  settled  policy  of  England,  not  only  survived 
the  Revolution,  but  has  been  so  well  fostered  by  our  own  subserviency 
to  it,  as  to  render  our  independence,  in  resnect  of  this  and  other  no 
less  important  industrial  pursuits,  rather  nominal  and  fictitious  than 
substantial  and  true ;  nevertheless,  with  the  odds  of  pauper  labor  and 
immense  capital  against  us,  thanks  to  the  ingenuity  and  enterprise  of 
our  people,  we  need  not  despair  of  final  success  with  any  thing  like  fair 
consideration  on  the  part  of  our  own  government.  For  this  opinion 
we  need  have  no  better  authority  than  that  of  SAMUEL  LAWRENCE, 
the  enlightened  and  liberal  proprietor  of  the  Middlesex  Mills,  at 
Lowell,  who  says,  « the  business  of  manufacturing  wool  in  this  coun- 
try is  on  a  better  basis  than  ever  before,  inasmuch  as  the  character, 
skill,  and  capital  engaged  in  it  are  such  as  to  defy  foreign  competi- 
tion." Occasional  revulsions,  such  as  the  present,  will  occur  from 
causes  abroad  over  which  we  have  no  control,  but  let  not  the  wool 
grower  relax  in  the  care  of  his  flock,  for  the  same  far-seeing  manu- 
facturer has  declared  that  he  could  point  to  articles  of  wool  now  im- 
ported, that  will  require  thirty  millions  of  pounds  of  medium  and  fine 
quality  to  supply  the  demand. 

After  all,  then,  on  viewing  the  importance  of  the  inquiry  to  nume- 
rous friends  for  whose  welfare  we  profess  to  entertain  unaffected  con- 
cern, and  the  great  extent  of  the  district  which  seemed  to  us  to  be  so  well 
adapted  to  the  growth  of  sheep  and  wool — the  magnitude  of  the  interest* 
involved  swelled  upon  the  contemplation,  begetting  a  conviction  that  as 
a  question  of  practical  agriculture,  it  was  not  to  be  worthily  and  well 
treated  by  a  few  hasty  and  superficial  essays,  or  by  more  elaborate 
compilations  in  relation  to  the  oft-repeated  natural  history  of  the  ani- 
mal, its  prominence  in  scriptural  annals,  &c.,  unsustained  by  that 


6  PREFACE. 


laborious  and  discriminating  comparison  of  facts  and  authorities  to 
illustrate  its  uses  and  its  value,  and  by  that  fulness  of  personal  ex- 
perience in  the  breeding  and  management  of  the  various  raccs^  "  in 
sickness  and  in  health,"  which  constitute  the  excellence  of  these  lei 
ters  to  Col.  Allston. 

Under  all  these  circumstances,  the-  reader  of  the  work  here  pre- 
sented may  well  judge  how  fortunate  that  it  should  have  been  under- 
taken, con  amore,  by  a  gentleman  so  well  prepared  by  general  scholar- 
ship, by  exact  practical  knowledge,  and  by  extensive  inquiry  into  the 
.mercantile  and  manufacturing,  as  well  as  the  agricultural  bearings  of 
the  question. 

It  is  due,  however,  no  less  in  justice  to  ourselves  than  to  truth,  to 
add,  that  in  urging  him  to  undertake  it,  we  had  no  idea  of  committing 
the  author  to  such  an  amount  of  labor,  even  had  we  foreseen  that 
being,  as  he  says,  a  "  labor  of  love,"  it  would  have  thus  ended  in  pro- 
ducing, as  in  our  judgment  it  has,  decidedly,  the  best  work  on  the  sub- 
ject of  Sheep,  that  has  at  any  time  appeared  in  our  country. 
.  May  we  not  refer,  for  the  soundness  of  this  opinion,  as  well  to 
its  originality  and  strictly  American  character,  as  to  the  comprehen- 
siveness with  which  it  presents  the  subject  in  its  various  relations,  in- 
structive alike  to  the  merchant,  the  manufacturer,  the  political 
inquirer,  and  the  legislator ;  as  to  the  practical  farmer  ?  Nor  is  it  to 
be  characterized  alone  by  its  utility  in  these  respects  ;  for  the  reader 
will  agree  with  us  that  its  entire  fairness  and  freedom  from  narrow 
views  and  local  prejudices,  much  enlarge,  in  a  moral  and  instructive 
view,  its  title  to  general  confidence  and  favor. 

Finally,  as  far  as  the  public  judgment  may  be  anticipated  in  refer- 
ence to  a  production  originally  appearing  disadvantageously,  in  de- 
tached parts,  and  not  until  now  finished  and  embodied ;  if  we  may 
,  conclude  from  the  favorable  manner  in  which  such  portions  have  been 
•reviewed  and  recommended,  by  some  of  the  leading  journals  of  the 
country,  the  writer  may  well  felicitate  himself  on  having  rendered  a 
most  acceptable  service  not  only  to  his  brother  farmers,  but  to  his 
countrymen  generally ;  while  we  may  unaffectedly,  and,  as  we  think, 
confidently  add,  it  establishes  for  Col.  Randall  himself  a  claim  to  stand 
jn  front  of  those  whose  pens,  some  of  them  under  high  motives  of 
patriotism,  have  been  engaged  in  illustrating  one  of  the  most  irnpor- 
slant  of  all  our  industrial  pursuits;  nay,  one  which  may  be  considered 
essential,  in  an  eminent  degree,  to  our  national  independence. 

J.  S,  SKINNER. 


INTRODUCTION. 


TBK  subject  ol  Sheep  Husbandry  has  recently  attracted  moit  attention  m  oia 
Southern  and  South-western  States,  than  at  any  previous  period.  The  want  of  a 
staple  or  product,  the  cultivation  of  which  should  render  productive  the  capital  in* 
vested  in  millions  of  acres  of  mountain  and  other  lands,  which  do  not  now  yield  ai 
farthing  of  income,  and  which,  from  their  soils,  situation,  or  other  circumstances,, 
are  unadapted  to  the  growth  of  any  of  the  present  Southern  staples,  has  struck  every 
Southern  man,  as  well  as  every  traveller  of  ordinary  intelligence,  who  has  passed 
through  the  regions  indicated.  The  want,  too,  of  some  class  of  domestic  animals 
to  constitute  the  basis,  or  pivot  as  it  were,  of  a  system  of  convertible  husbandry  on 
the  tillage  lands  of  the  South,  to  take  the  place  of  the  present  imperfect  rotations* 
of  crops,  and  new  and  old  field-system,  has  become  apparent  to  many  of  her  mor& 
investigating  agriculturists. 

The  fact  that  the  mountain  and  other  unproductive  lands  alluded  to  cannot  be 
made  to  profitably  yield  any  vegetable  products  but  pasturage ;  that  for  the  present,, 
and  for  a  long  time  to  come,  at  least,  the  bulk  of  them  will  not  afford  a  pasturage 
adapted  to  the  support  of  large  animals ;  could  not  but  suggest  the  growing  of  wool,, 
as  their  best,  if  not  their  only  available  staple.  The  similarity  of  their  general  clU- 
mate,  too,  with  that  where  wool  is  most  cheaply  grown  on  the  Eastern  Continent, 
was  a  consideration  promising  favorably  to  this  husbandry.  And,  finally,  it  had? 
not  failed  to  strike  men  of  ordinary  commercial  intelligence,  that  of  those  animal' 
staples,  to  the  production  of  which  a  Southern  climate  is  adapted,  the  Sheep  fur- 
nishes a  vastly  more  marketable  one  than  any  of  the  larger  grazing  animals. 

The  superiority  of  the  Sheep  over  other  animals  for  supporting  the  fertility  of 
tillage  lands,  by  converting  a  portion  of  their  products  into  manure,  was  not  s<* 
apparent.  But  the  well-known  fact  that  they  receive  the  preference  for  this  pur- 
pose, in  some  of  the  best  agricultural  countries  of  the  world,  made  it  sufficiently- 
probable  to  demand  a  full  investigation,  before  adopting  an  adverse  conclusion,  espe- 
cially as  what  has  been  said  in  relation  to  climate  and  the  marketableness  of  animal 
staples,  was  as  applicable  to  these  lands,  in  the  South,  as  to  those  adapted  only  to 
grass. 

But  Sheep  Husbandry  as  a  system,  and  especially  a  system  tested  by  experience* 
was  scarcely  known  in  any  of  the  Southern  States  excepting  in  western  Virginia. 
Whether  the  theoretical  considerations  and  natural  circumstances  which  apparently- 
farored  its  introduction  would  be  met,  in  practice,  with  unforeseen  obstacles,  was  a 
matter  calling  for  grave  circumspection.  The  Southern  agriculturist  is  ever  wary 
of  innovation,  and  very  properly  averse  to  rash  experiment.  He  knew,  it  is  truey 
that  his  roving  and  untended  "  native"  sheep  obtained  subsistence,  and  found  n» 


f?  INTRODUCTION. 


enemies  to  their  health  but  the  wolf  and  cur,  on  all  the  Southern  zones.  Uul 
whether  the  local  climate  and  herbage  of  those  different  zones — the  low,  level. 
Tertiary  sands  of  the  Atlantic  plain — the  granite  hills  of  the  middle,  and  the  ele- 
vated Paleozoic  or  Transition  regions  of  the  mountain  zone — would  be  found  to 
agree  with  the  more  valuable  breeds  of  sheep ;  whether  their  wool  would  retain  its 
qualities  or  degenerate  in  these  several  localities ;  whether  a  greatly  increased  sup- 
ply of  wool  would  find  a  remunerating  price  in  market;  whether  the  mountains 
could  be  converted  into  sheep-pastures,  and  wool  produced  on  them  without  an 
expense  which  would  absorb  all  the  profits ;  whether  Sheep  Husbandry  could  be 
made  a  substitute  for  "  resting,"  or  expensive  artificial  manures,  in  restoring  to  the 
cotton,  tobacco,  and  grain  lands  of  the  middle  and  tide-water  zones  the  fertility 
withdrawn  by  tillage ;  and  various  other  important  correlative  questions  were  all 
problems  to  him.  And  to  add  to  the  difficulties  of  forming  a  correct  opinion,  and 
especially  of  instituting  safe  and  satisfactory  experiments,  he  was  ignorant  of  all 
Ihe  practical  details  and  manipulations  of  Sheep  Husbandry :  he  knew  little  of  the 
various  breeds,  and  their  respective  adaptation  to  his  wants. 

For  information  on  the  subject  of  practical  Sheep  Husbandry  and  breeds  of  sheep, 
there  are  a  multitude  of  European,  and  several  American  works,  of  great  value. 
But  for  the  answers  to  the  questions  in  the  preceding  paragraph,  which  involve  the 
particular  bearings  and  adaptation  of  this  husbandry,  of  the  different  breeds,  etc., 
to  the  agricultural  circumstances  and  wants  of  the  various  regions  of  the  South- 
where  was  the  inquirer  to  find  the  desired  information?  Some  well-written  letters, 
embracing  portions  of  these  topics,  have  appeared  from  time  to  time  in  our  agricul- 
tural journals.  They  have  been  of  great  value  in  drawing  attention  to  the  subject. 
But  they  have  not  usually  occupied  limits  sufficient  for  the  examination  of  more 
than  a  single  phase  of  the  general  subject,  or  they  have  been  mere  coup  cTceils  cf 
that  subject,  omitting  all  but  a  few  important  facts  and  considerations  of  a  general 
character.  They  have,  too,  usually  been  replied  to,  or  published  contemporaneously 
in  the  same  or  other  agricultural  journals,  with  contradictory  statements — some- 
times with  crude  and  erroneous  speculations— calculated  to  confuse  or  mislead  the 
inexperienced  inquirer.  Beyond  these  occasional  Letters  in  the  agricultural  jour- 
nals, nothing,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  has  appeared  on  this  subject. 

A  practical  farmer,  I  have  bred  nearly  all  the  approved  varieties  of  almost  every 
iind  of  domestic  stock — of  every  kind  commonly  kept  on  Northern  farms — and 
;have  been  familiar  with  the  details  of  their  management  and  husbandry.  I  have 
owned  flocks  of  sheep,  and  been  more  or  less  familiar  with  them,  from  my  child- 
hood ;  and  for  the  last  fifteen  years  have  made  their  economy,  their  habits,  their 
'comparative  profitableness  with  other  kinds  of  stock,  and  the  comparative  value  of 
ilheir  breeds,  matters  of  careful  and  constant  observation  and  experiment. 

When  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  New  York  State  Agricultural  Society,  a 
few  years  since,  the  facts  drawn  out  by  me  in  an  extensive  correspondence  with 
•eminent  Southern  agriculturists,  united  to  what  knowledge  I  had  previously  ob- 
tained by  reading  and  personal  observation  of  the  Southern  States,  led  me  to  th 
impression  that  there  were  numerous  considerations  and  natural  circumstances 
strongly  indicating  the  expediency  of  introducing  wool-growing  extensively  into 
those  States.  But  at  that  time,  my  attention,  in  common  with  that  of  many  if  not 
tmost,  of  the  Northern  flock-masters,  was  turned  towards  the  prairies  of  the  North- 
vest,  as  a  region  capable  of  sweeping  away  all  American  competition  in  this  branch 
of  husbandry.  Glowing  estimates  and  calculations  had  been  predicated  on  very 
ipartial  experiments.  The  value  of  the  natural  grasses,  the  character  of  the  winters 
and  general  climate,  and  the  general  facilities  of  the  prairies  for  wool-growing,  were 
then  little  understood  here,  and  had  been  made  the  subjects  of  much  favorable  exag- 


INTRODUCTION.  9 

geration.  Facts  subsequently  ascertained,  have,  it  cannot  be  denied,  materially 
changed  the  impressions  of  our  flock-masters  on  this  subject.  Whether  correctly 
or  incorrectly,  they  no  longer  fear  Western  competition  in  growing  fine  wool.  My 
own  coincides  with  the  popular  impression  on  this  topic,  if  we  consider  that  com- 
petition in  its  relations  to  a  period,  not  far  distant  in  the  future. 

The  adoption  of  these  views  led  me  to  again  turn  my  attention,  never  entirely 
withdrawn,  more  particularly  to  the  capabilities  of  the  South  for  this  branch  of  hus- 
bandry. '  My  conclusions  and  the  reasons  for  them  will  be  found  in  the  following 
Letters.  In  a  letter  to  Hon.  Robfert  J.  Walker,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  pub- 
lished in  his  Treasury  Report  of  1845,  and  in  a  series  of  letters  published  in  tho 
Virginia  "  Valley  Farmer,"  the  same  year,  I  stated  some  of  the  general  conclu- 
sions I  had  then  arrived  at  on  this  topic.  These  publications  were  followed  by 
letters  from  gentlemen  residing  in  Virginia,  North  and  South  Carolina,  Tennessee, 
Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Arkansas,  making  farther  inquiries,  and  usually  impart- 
ing more  or  less  local  information  on  the  subject.  Some  of  these  were  practical 
men,  only  seeking  information  on  practical  points ;  others,  eminent  for  intelligence 
and  legislative  experience,  embraced  a  more  comprehensive  field  of  investigation, 
and  sought  from  me,  as  probably  from  other,  sources,  to  ascertain  by  a  wide  range 
of  general  facts  and  statistics,  the  probable  bearing,  now  and  in  future,  of  an  exten- 
sive system  of  wool-growing  on  the  Agriculture,  Commerce,  Manufactures,  domes- 
tic consumption — in  short,  the  whole  domestic  economy  of  our  Southern  States. 

Answers  to  these  questions  demanded  careful  investigation,  and  involved  a  greai 
variety  and  complexity  of  details  in  the  practical  department  of  the  subject,  ren- 
dered-far  more  numerous  by  the  wide  differences  existing  between  the  soils,  esta- 
blished husbandry,  and  even  the  climates,  of  the  three  distinct  and  well-defined 
zones  already  alluded  to.  The  location  of  some  of  my  correspondents  was  on  the 
mountains  of  Virginia,  the  Carolinas,  and  Tennessee — others  on  the  hilly  zone  of 
the  same  States — others  on  the  Tertiary  sands  of  the  tide-water  zone,  and  the  Cre- 
taceous plains  of  the  Mississippi  and  Arkansas.  To  give  opinions  on  all  the  topics 
referred  to,  and  in  reference  to  natural  circumstances  so  various,  supported  by  even 
a  respectable  show  of  corroborating  facts,  was  an  undertaking  requiring  considera- 
ble time  and  labor :  to  repeat  them  separately  to  each  correspondent,  was  wholly 
out  of  the  question. 

Requested  by  Mr.  Skinner,  a  little  more  than  a  year  since,  to  prepare  a  series  of 
Letters  on  Sheep  Husbandry,  and  especially  on  Sheep  Husbandry  in  the  South,  for 
The  Farmers'  Library,  it  occurred  to  me  that  a  compliance  with  his  request  would 
snable  me  to  answer  each  of  my  correspondents  by  once  writing;  and  moreover,  I 
could  feel,  under  such  circumstances,  that  I  could  properly  afford  to  bestow  an 
amount  of  time  and  elaboration  on  my  communications  which  I  should  otherwise 
find  impracticable.  And  I  confess,  I  also  thought  if  the  information  I  could  impart 
would  prove  of  value  to  my  personal  correspondents,  it  might  also  prove  so  to  many 
others  among  the  numerous  readers  of  a  popular  agricultural  magazine.  The  liberal 
offer  of  the  Publishers  to  provide  all  such  cuts  as  I  should  choose  to  direct,  was  an 
additional  inducement  to  adopt  this  medium  of  communication.  I  have  often  felt 
the  want  of  these  in  agricultural  letters  of  my  own,  and  in  reading  the  works  of 
others.  In  describing  a  breed  of  sheep,  for  example,  to  a  person  who  has  never 
seen  them,  the  best  chosen  words  convey  but  a  vague  impression.  In  many  other 
cases  also,  cuts  exhibit  at  a  glance  what  it  would  require  much  circumlocution  to 
describe ;  and  they  in  many  instances  convey  ideas  to  the  mind  with  a  definiteness,, 
correctness,  and  exemption  from  possibility  of  misunderstanding,  which  worda 
alone  never  could.  The  cuts  include  portraits  of  all  the  breeds  which  I  supposed 
could  of  possibility  possess,  or  claim  to  possess,  superior  value,  for  any  region  01 


B 


10  INTRODUCTION. 


locality  within  the  United  States;  all  the  necessary  anatomical  figured,  with  those 
of  the  less  known  insect  and  parasitic  enemies  of  the  sheep ;  and  finally,  represen- 
tations of  every  implement,  fixture,  or  process  employed  in  Sheep  Husbandry, 
where  I  thought  they  would  convey  important  information — and  particularly  new 
information — more  clearly  than  it  could  be  done  by  words.  Many  of  the  latter 
class  of  illustrations  have  never  before  been,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  attempted;  and, 
representing  as  they  do  the  results  of  years  of  inquiry  and  experiment,  I  trust  they 
may  prove  of  service  to  beginners— particularly  in  regions  where  Sheep  Husbandry 
has  been  hitherto  little  known.  t 

The  Letters  were  begun  and  concluded  exclusively  as  a  "  labor  of  love."  To 
possess  the  consciousness  that  even  a  limited  portion  of  my  fellow-men  have  been 
benefited  by  my  labors,  would  be  all,  and  the  noblest  recompense  to  which  I  could 
aspire.  Nor  do  I  feel,  that  in  attempting  to  benefit  the  agriculturists  of  one  section 
of  our  country,  by  urging  them  to  appropriate  a  branch  of  industry  now  giving  sub- 
sistence to  those  of  another  section,  I  am  seeking  the  good  of  the  former  at  the 
expense  of  the  latter.  Every  region  has  natural  advantages,  or  those  resulting  from 
the  natural  course  of  events,  for  different  branches  of  industry.  A  right  to  these 
odvantages  enures  from  a  right  to  the  soil ;  and  the  former  is  just  as  natural  and 
sacred  a  right  as  the  latter.  To  attempt  to  wrest  them  from  the  holder  by  legisla- 
tion, is  oppressive ;  to  withhold  from  him  any  knowledge  necessary  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  them,  is  unfraternal  and  unmanly.  If  Virginia  can  grow  wool,  or  any  other 
staple,  more  cheaply  than  New  York,  let  her  do  it.  She  will  only  force  New  York 
to  fall  back  on  the  production  of  some  other  staple,  or  to  adopt  some  other  branch 
of  industry.  And  why  not  ?  Why  should  there  not  be  a  division  of  production, 
where  it  is  called  for  by  natural  circumstances,  at  least  within  the  limits  of  a  com- 
mon nation  ?  It  is  doubtless  well  for  every  region,  whether  extensive  or  limited, 
to  produce  its  own  necessaries  of  life  to  the  greatest  economical  extent.  But  an 
attempt  to  force  Nature  against  her  manifest  capabilities,  for  the  sake  of  attaining  a 
fancied  local  independence,  is  to  inflict  a  real  evil,  in  the  hope  of  attaining  an  ima- 
ginary good.  History  is  full  of  instances  where  the  prosperity  of  large  masses  of 
individuals,  and  even  whole  nations,  has  been  crippled,  in  futile  efforts  to  upbuild 
this  or  that  branch  of  industry,  in  spite  of  natural  obstacles,  or  against  the  compe- 
tition of  regions  possessing  greater  natural  advantages.  Among  the  foolish,  selfish, 
and  even  iniquitous  legislation  of  past  ages,  there  has  been  none  perhaps  productive 
of  more  real  mischief  to  human  industry  than  the  intermeddling  enactments  of  go- 
vernments, ostensibly  designed  for  its  benefit.  Masses  of  men,  because  divided  by 
a  rivulet,  speaking  a  different  language,  or  owning  the  sway  of  different  potentates, 
have  aspired  to  that  physical  independence  of  each  other,  and  of  the  whole  world, 
which  the  God  of  nature  rendered  economically,  if  not  absolutely  impossible.  The 
Vexatious  restrictions  on  trade  and  commerce  imposed  in  pursuit  of  this  object  by 
one  government,  were  met  by  retaliatory  ones  by  others,  until  international  com- 
mercial legislation  became  a  confused  labyrinth  of  enactments — their  absurdity  only 
equaled  by  their  mischievousness.  And  like  the  elephants  formerly  used  by  bar- 
oarian  nations  in  battle,  they  nearly  as  often  trampled  down  their  friends  as  their 
enemies.  The  era  of  these  things  is  rapidly  passing  away.  That  patriotism  which 
includes  only  a  province  or  State,  among  one  common  people,  is  beginning  to  be 
recognised  as  narrow  and  sordid  :  nay,  among  intelligent  men,  that  philanthropy  is 
beginning  to  be  thought  meagre  and  unexpansive  which  stops  even  at  the  boundaries 
of  Nations.  • 

In  preparing  the  following  Letters,  I  have  labored  under  disadvantages  insepara- 
ble from  the  circumstances  under  which  they  have  been  prepared.  I  have  written 
them  from  month  to  month,  amid  the  hurry  of  other  pursuits,  with  little  idea  of  what 


INTRODUCTION.  11 


would  be  their  ultimate  limits — usually  with  one  or  more  of  the  immediately  pre- 
ceding numbers  in  the  hands  of  the  printer,  and  consequently  not  under  my  inspec- 
tion. I  have  not  therefore  had  that  opportunity  to  proportion  the  space  devoted  to 
the  several  topics,  avoid  repetition,  and  correct  errors,  possessed  by  him  who  com- 
pletes and  revises,  before  any  portion  of  his  manuscript  is  rendered  unalterable  by 
•tereotyping. 

Reliance  on  insufficient  authority  has  in  a  very  few  instances  led  me  into  errors, 
but  fortunately,  so  far  as  discovered,  they  have  been  of  trifling  importance,  and  in 
relation  to  matters  of  no  especial  moment.  Those  thought  worthy  of  notice  have 
been  corrected  in  subsequent  parts  of  the  body  of  the  work.  The  causes  I  have 
named,  therefore,  affect  rather  the  literary  character  of  the  Letters,  than  their 
general  accuracy. 

In  stating  important  facts  and  conclusions,  I  have  consulted  such  writers  of  repu- 
tation as  were  within  my  reach.  Among  the  foreign  ones  who  have  prepared  works 
on  Sheep  Husbandry,  or  expressed  important  opinions  on  some  of  its  separate 
topics  or  facts,  or  who  have  alluded  to  the  Sheep  Husbandry  of  particular  countries 
or  nations,  reference  has  been  had  to  the  following,  either  by  consulting  their  works, 
as  I  have  in  most  instances  been  able  to  do — or  by  quotations  from  them  found  in 
the  works  of  other  writers  of  reputation; — Anderson,  Bakewell,  Barnes,  Barrow, 
Bischoff,  Blacklock,  Kourgoing,  Bright,  Carr,  Coventry,  Culley,  Cunningham, 
D'Arboval,  Darwin,  Daubenton,  Dick,  Ellman,  Gasparin,  Gilbert,  Goese,  Harrison, 
Hogg,  Hood,  Howitt,  Hubbard,  Jacob,  Lang,  Lasteyrie,  Leeuwenboek,  Lichsten- 
stein,  Linnaeus,  Low,  Luccock,  Maitland,  Malte-Brun,  McCulloch,  Moffat, 
McKenzie,  Paget,  Parkinson,  Parry,  Petri,  Pictet,  Powell,  Reaumur,  Rodolphi, 
Sinclair,  Slade,  Southey,  Spallanzani,  Spooner,  Stephens,  Swaine,  Trail,  Trimmer, 
Valasnieri,  Vanderdonk,  Von  Thaer,  Walz,  Western,  Willmer  &  Smith,  Youatt, 
Young,  and  some  others.  Of  our  domestic  writers,  I  have  aimed  to  consult  all  of 
the  most  prominent  ones.  It  is  not  necessary  to  enumerate  them,  extending,  as  the 
list  would,  to  hundreds. 

The  examination  of  these  writers,  foreign  and  domestic,  has  been  no  recent  under- 
taking with  me.  For  years,  I  have  found  It  a  source  both  of  instruction  and  plea- 
sure, to  peruse  their  works.  Where  they  have  proposed  any  thing  new  to  me,  which 
I  thought  promised  favorable  results,  I  have  usually  sought  the  first  opportunity  to 
put  their  propositions  to  the  experimentum  crucis  of  actual  trial.  I  haye  often  thus 
learned  valuable  facts.  But  I  have  nearly  or  quite  as  often  ascertained* that  what 
may  be  true  of  one  breed,  in  one  climate,  or  under  one  set  of  circumstances,  is  not 
true  when  all  or  a  part  of  these  conditions  are  changed.  The  English  and  German 
systems  of  management,  for  example,  I  regard  as  almost  wholly  inapplicable  here, 
on  account  of  the  entire  different  relation  which  the  prices  of  land  and  labor  beai 
toward  each  other  in  those  countries  and  our  own.  And  I  sometimes  have  had  the 
conviction  forced  upon  me,  that  writers  even  of  reputation  have  assumed  positions 
in  relation  to  practical  matters,  which  they  must  have  derived  from  other  sources 
than  direct  personal  experience. 

While  I  have  carefully  reviewed  and  collated  the  opinions  of  other  writers  on 
doubtful  practical  points,  I  have  in  all  instances,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  following 
pages,  preferred  the  results  of  personal  experience  and  observation,  to  adverse 
authority,  however  eminent.  Compilations,  it  seems  to  me,  are  sufficiently  abun- 
dant, and  I  have  thought  it  better  to  give  my  own  opinions,  leaving  them  to  stand  or 
fall,  as  they  shall  be  found  accurate  or  inaccurate.  Where  I  have  found  it  necessary 
to  rely  on  others  for  any  fact,  or  have  quoted  their  opinions,  I  have  uniformly  given 
them  credit.  To  my  kind  correspondents,  particularly  my  Southern  correspondents 
—many  of  whose  communications  are  not  published  en  account  of  their  reluctance 


12  INTRODUCTION. 


to  be  cited  as  authority  for  facts,  where  their  modesty  leads  them  to  underrate  theif 
own  comparative  knowledg-e  and  experience — I  tender  my  thanks  for  theif 
assistance. 

I  have  addressed  the  Letters  to  Col.  R.  F.  W.  ALLSTON,  of  Waccamaco  Beach, 
near  Georgetown,  South  Carolina — a  gentleman  to  wliom  I  am  indebted  for  much 
valuable  information  on  the  subject  of  Southern  Agriculture,  and  who  has  evei 
evinced  a  most  earnest  desire  to  contribute  to  the  improvement  of  that  Agriculture. 

HENRY  S.  RANDALL. 


COSTTEISTS. 

LETTER  I.— EFFECT  OF  CLIMATE  ON  THE  HEALTH  AND  WOOL-PRODUCING  QUALITIES  OF 
SHEEP, 15 

LETTER  II.— EFFECT  OF  CLIMATE,  (continued,) 23 

LETTER  IIL — ADAPTATION  OF  THE  SOILS,  HERBAGE,  ETC.,  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  STATES  TO 
SHEEP  HUSBANDRY. — 1.  OF  THE  Low  OR  TIDE-WATER  REGION, CO 

LETTER  IV.— THE  ADAPTATION  OF  THE  SOILS,  HERBAGE,  ETC.,  OF  THE  SOUTHERN 
STATES  TO  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY,  (continued.) — 2.  OF  THE  MIDDLE  OR  HILLY  ZONE. — 
3.  Off  THE  MOUNTAIN  REGION, 42 

LETTER  V. — PROFITS  OF  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  STATES.—!.  DIRECT 
PROFIT  ON  CAPITAL  INVESTED, '. 52 

LETTER  VI. — PROFITS  OF  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  STATES. — 2.  As  THS 
BASIS  OF  AMELIORATION  IN  NATURALLY  STERILE  AND  WORN-OUT  SOILS, 6S 

LETTER  VII. — PROFITS  OF  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  STATES. — 3.  BY  GIV- 
ING TO  SOUTHERN  AGRICULTURE  A  MIXED  AND  CONVERTIBLE  CHARACTER. — 4.  BY 
FURNISHING  THE  RAW  MATERIAL  FOR  THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  DOMESTIC  WOOLLENS,..  78 

LETTER  VIII. — PROSPECTS  OF  THS  WOOL  MARKET — FUTURE  DEMAND  AND  SUPPLY, —  9-4 

LETTER  IX. — PROSPECTS  OF  THE  WOOL  MABKET — FUTURE  DEMAND  AND  SUPPLY, 108 

LETTER  X. — BREEDS  OF  SHEEP  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES, 129 

LETTER  XL — THE  MOST  PROFITABLE  BREED  OF  SHEEP  FOR  THE  SOUTH — PRINCIPLES 

OF  BREEDING, 153 

LETTER  XII. — SUMMER  MANAGEMENT  OF  SHEEP, 173 

LETTER  XIIL— WINTER  MANAGEMENT  OF  SHEEP 197 

LETTER  XIV. — ANATOMY  AND  DISEASE  OF  SHEEP, 219 

LETTER  XV. — ANATOMY  OF  THE  SHEEP,  (continued.) — DISEASES  AND  THEIR  TREAT- 
MENT,   234 

LETTER  XVI. — DISEASES  AND  THEIR  TREATMENT,  (continued,) 254 

LETTER  XVIL— SHEEP  Does,  WOOL  DEPOTS,  ETC., 278 

APPENDIX. 

SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA , 297 

SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  TEXAS, 805 

SIIEEP  RAISING  IN  TEXAS, 320 


SHEEP    HUSBANDRY 


IN  TUB 


UNITED  STATES, 


A  SEKIES  OF  LETTERS  TO  E.  F.  ALLSTOtf, 

OF    SOUTH    CAROLINA. 


LETTER  I. 

EFFECT  OF  CLIMATE   ON  THE  HEALTH  AND  WOOL-PRODUCING 
QUALITIES  OF  SHEEP. 


Introductory  Remarks. ..Wool-Growing  and  Manufacturing  Statistics  of  the  Southern  States  compared 
trith  those  of  New-York... Effect  of  Warm  Climates  on  the  Health  of  Sheep.  ..Sheep  in  the  Southern 
States  below  latitude  32°.  ..Effect  of  Climate  on  Wool-Producine  Qualities  of  Sheep — on  the  Quantity  ol 
the  Wool...  Weight  of  Fleeces  in  the  Southern  States  indicated  by  U.  S.  Census  of  1840— Important  Oinig- 
gions  in  that  Census — Other  important  Errors  in  it.  ..Table  of  Weights  of  Fleeces  in  Four  Counties  where 
they  average  highest  in  each  of  the  Southern  States  and  in  New-York — Latitude,  Topography  and  Climate 
yf those  Counties...  Warmth  of  Climate  conducive  to  the  Production  of  Wool— Reasons. 

R.  F.  W.  ALLSTONf.Eaq— 

Dear  Sir :  That  spirit  which  prompts  communities  and  States  to  at- 
tempt to  render  themselves  independent,  so  far  as  the  supply  of  physical 
wants  is  concerned,  of  other  communities  and  States,  is  an  eminently 
proper  one,  up  to  certain  limits.  Beyond  these, it  degenerates  into  mere 
sectional  selfishness,  as  deserving  of  reprobation  in  the  community  as  in 
the  individual — nay,  more  so,  for  it  militates  more  widely  against  the  in- 
terests and  happiness  of  mankind.  Agriculture  supplies  the  most  of  our 
physical  wants  which  are  not  administered  to  spontaneously  by  Nature. 
In  this  great  department  of  human  labor,it  is  not  difficult  to  decide  how  far 
the  inhabitants  of  each  particular  region  are  called  upon  to  rear  from  the 
earth  what  their  wants  require.  Nature  herself  has,  in  the  distribution  of 
soils  and  climates,  both  indicated  and  limited  the  production  of  many  of 
the  agricultural  staples,  by  geographical  boundaries,  sometimes  topically 

15 


16  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY    IN    THE    SOUTH. 

and  sometimes  by  whole  regions.  This  compels  those  practicing  Agricul- 
ture, both  as  individuals  and  masses,  to  make  that  "  division  of  labor" 
which,  as  in  the  mechanic  arts,  gives  a  better  knowledge  of  its  principles 
and  a  greater  expertness  in  its  practical  manipulations.  It  also  creates 
the  necessity  of  exchange.  Exchange  is  commerce,  and  commerce  begets 
and  diffuses  civilization. 

Agricultural  production,  then,  should  be  controlled  by  the  demand  or 
want,  and  by  the  adaptation  of  the  country  to  such  production.  It  would 
"he  absurd,  for  example,  for  New-York  to  attempt  to  raise  its  own  rice 
and  cotton,  instead  of  exchanging  the  surplus  of  what  it  can  most  readily 
produce  for  that  rice  and  cotton,  or  selling  its  surplus  where  it  is  wanted, 
and  buying  the  rice  and  cotton  with  the  proceeds.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
it  would  be  equally  absurd  for  New- York  to  be  dependent  on  South 
America  or  Australia  for  her  wools,  when  she  can  raise  that  staple  just  as 
well  as  those  countries,  and  thus  save  paying  for  transportation  and  the 
hire  or  commission  of  the  agents  of  exchange. 

Though  Nature  both  indicates  and  limits  the  production  of  staples  by 
soils  and  climates,  she  too  rigidly  enforces  the  primal  curse,  or  perhaps 
we  should  say  blessing,  of  labor,  to  bring  forth  each,  indigenously,  in  the 
regions  adapted  to  it,  or  ever  to  place  them  there,  unless  transported  by 
the  enterprise  and  industry  of  man.  The  potato  and  maize  were  a  recent 
gift  from  this  continent  to  the  eastern.  The  debt  has  been  repaid  by  rice, 
the  sugar  cane,  the  horse,  the  cow,  the  sheep,  and  a  multitude  of  other 
plants  and  animals.  How  singular  is  the  history  of  some  of  their  deporta- 
tions !  The  sugar  cane,  now  furnishing  an  important  staple  in  some  of  our 
own  Southern  States,  originated  in  the  eastern  confines  of  Asia ;  was  noF 
vouchsafed  to  the  Greek  and  Roman  ;  traveled  into  Arabia  about  the 
last  of  the  thirteenth  century ;  passed  thence  into  Africa ;  was  carried 
by  the  Moors  into  Spain ;  by  the  Spaniards  and  Portuguese  into  the  West 
India  Islands ;  and  thence  we  received  it.  Rice,  the  great  staple  of 
your  own  State,  sir,  a  plant  of  which  it  has  been  said  that  it  "  has  altered 
the  face  of  the  globe  and  the  destiny  of  nations,"  originated  also  in  Asia, 
and  has  traveled  by  the  same  slow  stages,  until  it  has  reached  that  low 
zone  which  skirts  our  south-eastern  shores,  to  render  its  vast  marshes,  oth- 
erwise useless,  as  profitably  productive  as  the  best  grain  or  cotton  lands 
of  the  Southern  States. 

Hero,  sir,  we  find  an  instructive  lesson.  Other  regions  there  are  in  our 
Southern  States,  now,  nearly  as  useless  as  would  be  her  "  hammocks  " 
without  rice,  inviting  the  introduction  of  some  other  great  staple  to  sup- 
ply, if  feasible,  a  home  demand,  and  a  surplus  for  profitable  exportation. 
If  this  great  object  can  be  achieved,  and  by  the  same  means,  the  husbandry 
of  the  regions  now  under  cultivation  be  made  to  assume  that  mixed  and 
convertible  character  which  will  both  add  to  their  present  proceeds,  and 
better  sustain  their  fertility,  for  future  demands  on  them,  a  benefit  will  be 
conferred  on  the  South  the  present  and  final  results  of  which  it  would 
be  difficult  to  overestimate.  Repudiating  theoretic  speculation  and  vague 
conjecture — advancing  just  so  far  and  no  farther  than  we  find  our  way 
illumined  by  the  broad  and  certain  light  of  facts,  let  us  inquire  what  im 
portant  staple  there  is,  not  now  extensively  produced  at  the  South,  which 
would  come  within  and  at  the  same  time  fill  the  requirements  I  have  men- 
tioned. 

Woolen  fabrics  constitute  an  important  item  in  the  imports  of  the  South- 
ern States,  and  for  these  they  exchange  the  proceeds  of  no  inconsiderable 
proportion  of  their  industry  with  the  Northern  States  and  with  Europe. 

The  following  table  will  exhibit  the  population,  and  the  amount  of  home 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


17 


production  in  these  staples,  according  to  the  U.  S.  census  of  1840,  in  the 
States  south  of  the  Ohio  and  Potomac,  and  west  of  the  Mississippi,  (in- 
cluding Louisiana,)  in  1839.  To  these  are  added,  by  way  of  comparison, 
the  statistics  of  the  State  of  New-York,  under  the  same  heads,  for  the 
same  year : 

TABLE  No.  1. 


STATES. 

Population. 

No.  of  Sheep. 

Lbs.  of  Wool. 

No.  of  Woolen 
Factories. 

Value  of  Woolen 
Man  ufactured 
Goods. 

Virginia  .  --  

1,239,797 

1,293,772 

2,538,374 

41 

147,792 

North  Carolina  .  .  . 
South  Carolina  .  .  . 

753,419 

594.398 
691  392 

538,279 
232,981 
267  107 

625,044 
299,170 
371,303 

3 
1 

3,900 
1,000 
3,000 

Florida 

54  477 

7  198 

7,285 

590  756 

163,243 

220,353 

375651 

128,367 

175,196 

3;"2,411 

98,072 

49.283 

Tennessee  .   ..... 

829,210 

741,593 

1,060.332 

26 

14,000 

Kentucky  

779,825 

1,008,240 

1,786,847 

40 

151,246 

Total  

6.261,336 

4,478,852 

7,133,187 

/     114 

320,938 

2,428,921 

5,118.777 

9.845,295 

323 

3,537,337 

The  above  is  only  given  to  indicate  approximate  general  results  ;  for, 
as  I  shall  subsequently  show,  the  returns  of  the  product  of  wool  are  inac- 
curate to  the  last  degree. 

The  question  now  arises,  whence  the  immense  disparity  in  the  growth 
and  manufacturing  of  wool  in  the  State  of  New-York,  comprising  46,000 
square  miles  of  territory,  and  less  than  two  and  a  half  millions  of  popula- 
lation,  and  the  ten  States  above  enumerated,  covering  an  area  of  495,000 
square  miles,  and  exceeding  six  millions  of  population  ]  Is  the  growing  of 
wool,  (for  we  will  first  consider  this,  as  the  main  question,  leaving  the  sub- 
ject of  manufacturing  for  subsequent  examination,)  to  its  present  extent, 
profitable  or  unprofitable  in  the  State  of  New- York  ]  I  contend,  and  shall 
attempt  to  prove,  that  taking  a  term  of  say  ten  or  fifteen  years,  it  has  been 
the  most  profitable  branch  of  industry  earned  on  in  the  State.  If  this  is 
true,  why  is  it  not  equally  profitable  in  the  Southern  States  ]*  Is  there 
anything  in  their  climate  which  renders  them  less  favorable  to  the  health 
or  wool-producing  qualities  of  the  sheep — or  is  there  anything  in  their 
topographical  features,  soils,  herbage,  or  other  circumstances,  which  unfits 
them  for  a  natural  and  easy  adaptation  to  sheep  husbandry  ]  Or  have 
they  other  staples  so  much  more  profitable  that  it  is  not  an  object  to  grow 
wool? 

Having  bestowed  some  attention  on  these  points,  and  having  been  prac- 
tically familiar  with  the  most  minute  details  of  sheep  husbandry  from  my 
childhood,  I  have  thought  that  the  conclusions  I  have  arrived  at,  and  the 
facts  on  which  I  have  based  them,  might  not  be  uninteresting  to  you.  To 
bring  these  facts  connectedly  before  you,  I  shall  necessarily  be  driven  to 
repeat  some  matter  from  my  own  and  the  writings  of  others,  which  you 
have  doubtless  before  seen  in  the  publications  of  the  day. 

Let  us  now  take  up  the  first  of  the  two  preceding  questions ;  and  first  1 
will  call  your  attention  to  the  effect  of  Climate. 

Sheep  have  been  bred,  time  out  of  mind,  on  the  Eastern  Continent, 
from  the  Equator  to  the  65th  degree  of  north  latitude,  from  the  burning 
plains  of  Africa  and  Asia,  to  the  almost  perpetual  frosts  cf  Iceland.  The 
Merino,  (the  different  families  of  which,  as  will  be  shown,  constitute  the 
only  varieties  suitable  for  wool  growing  on  a  scale  of  any  considerable 
extent,)  has  been  ired  in  Europe,  for  ages,  as  far  south  as  between  the 

*  When  I  use  the  words  "  Southern  States,"  without  farther  specification,  you  will  understand  me  to 
mean  the  ten  enumerated  in  Table  let. 

(651)  C 


18 


SHEEP   HUSBANDRY    IN    THE    SOUTH. 


36th  and  37th  parallels  of  latitude,  and  has,  within  the  last  few  years,  been 
acclimated  with  perfect  success  as  far  north  as  various  points  in  Sweden. 

If  any  difficulty  exists  in  the  climate  of  the  United  States,  rendering  it 
unsuitable  for  the  rearing  of  sheep  and  wool,  it  must  be  its  heat ;  and  this 
must  affect  the  wool-producing  qualities  of  the  animal  alone,  and  not  its 
health,  as  the  following  facts  will  show.  There  were  upward  of  660,000 
sheep  in  the  five  most  southern  States,  in  1839.  In  Florida,  they  have 
been  acclimated  as  far  south  as  the  29th  degree.  In  Louisiana,  Mississippi, 
Alabama,  and  Georgia,  they  not  only  flourish  in  the  northern  and  more 
elevated  sections,  but  on  the  low,  fenny,  tide-water  region  which  skirts  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  In  the  above  five  States  there  were,  in  1839,  upward  of 
190,000  sheep  below  the  32d  degree  of  latitude,  viz.  :  in  Georgia  32,986, 
Florida  7,198,  Alabama  22,053,  Mississippi  56,780,  Louisiana  81,627-.* 
They  graze  with  equal  impunity  the  vegetation  on  the  margin  of  the 
Great  Okefinokee  Swamp  (in  Georgia  and  Florida)  and  on  that  which 
rankly  flourishes  among  the  ooze  at  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi.  It  may 
interest  some  less  acquainted  than  you  are,  sir,  with  this  subject,  to  know 
that  in  1839  the  county  in  which  New-Orleans  stands  (Orleans)  contained 
1,807  sheep;  Jefferson,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  6,871  ;  St.  Ber- 
nard, extending  from  Orleans  to  the  Gulf,  1,154 ;  Plaquemine,  almost  sur- 
rounded by  the  waters  of  the  Gulf,  and  comprising  the  delta  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, 1,832  ;  Lafourche  Interior,  on  the  Gulf,  1,253  ;  Terrebonne,  another 
Gulf  county,  1,013;  St.  Mary's,  another,  8,211;  and  La  Fayette,  another, 
2,622.t 

No  portion  of  the  United  States  is  lower,  hotter,  or  more  unhealthy 
than  much  of  the  preceding,  and  none,  according  to  commonly  received 
notions,  would  be  more  unsuited  to  the  healthy  production  of  sheep.  Yet, 
that  they  are  healthy  in  these  situations  is  a  matter  of  perfect  notoriety  to 
all  conversant  with  the  facts.  So  far  as  health  is  concerned,  then,  we  arc 
assuredly  authorized  to  assume  the  position  that  no  portion  of  the  United 
States  is  too  warm  for  sheep. 

We  come  now  to  the  effect  of  climate  on  the  wool -producing  qualities 
of  the  animal.  Assuming  the  census  returns  of  the  United  States  in  1840 
as  reliable  data,  they  would  furnish  strong  proof  that  *he  warmth  of  the 
climate  has  a  marked  effect  in  diminishing  the  weight  of  wrool  per  sheep  ; 
and  they  have  been  adduced  as  furnishing  conclusive  evidence  to  that  ef- 
fect, by  persons  more  accustomed  to  broad  assertion  than  patient  invest! 
gation. 

The  following  will  give  the  weight  of  wool  per  head  in  the  States  enu- 
merated in  Table  No.  1,  estimated  from  the  census  returns  of  1840  : 

TABLE  No.  2. 


Virginia             .  . 

Lbs.    Oz. 

.  1     7  845 

Lfa.    Oz, 
1     4  146 

North  Carolina  .... 

1     2  221 

1     4  227 

1     3  539 

0     8  040      | 

1     4  487 

1     4  809 

1     0  410 

1     6  971 

New-  York... 

lib.  7  68( 

)         OZ. 

But  an  examination  of  the  census  will  show  that  so  far  as  several  cf 
these  States  are  concerned,  it  is  entitled  to  very  little  credit,  in  this  par- 
ticular, and  that  it  is  correct  in  relation  to  none  of  them. 

In  Louisiana,  in  fourteen  counties  from  which  30,261  sheep,  or  nearly 
one-third  in  the  whole  State,  are  returned,  not  a  pound  of  wool  is  returned. 

In  Florida,  four  counties,  returning  228  sheep,  return  no  wool.     Let  ut 


U.  8.  Onsus.  1B4G. 


•Ib 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  (9 


examine  the  comparative  products,  per  head,  as  set  forth  in  some  of  the 
counties  from  which  returns  of  sheep  and  wool  are  both  made,  with  a  view 
of  testing  their  accuracy.  Escambia  returns  485  sheep,  and  837  Ibs.  of 
wool;  Walton  .386  sheep,  and  575  Ibs.  of  wool;  Leon  1,798  sheep,  and 
3,360  Ibs.  of  wool— or  an  approximation  to  2  Ibs.  of  wool  per  head.  Nas- 
sau returns  436  sheep,  and  1,200  Ibs.  of  wool,  or  about  3  Ibs.  per  head. 
On  the  other  hand,  Gadsden  returns  1,875  sheep  and  512  Ibs.  of  wool ; 
Jefferson  752  sheep,  and  300  Ibs.  of  wool ;  Madison  223  sheep,  and  50  Ibs. 
of  wool ;  Jackson  960  sheep,  and  376  Ibs.  of  wool,  or  not  quite  a  third  of 
a  pound  per  fleece  !  Now  Leon  is  bounded  on  the  west  by  Gadsden,  and 
on  the  east  by  Jefferson,  and  all  lie  in  the  same  latitude,  and  do  not  differ 
essentially  in  their  soil,  herbage,  or  temperature  !  Madison  lies  imme- 
diately east  of  Jefferson,  (though  its  southern  angle  extends  somewhat 
farther  south,)  and  Jackson  joins  Walton.  Nassau  is  in  the  same  latitude. 
Hamilton,  returning  no  sheep,  returns  the  product  as  20  Ibs.  of  wool ! 

In  Mississippi,  eight  counties  returning  15,227  sheep,  return  no  wool; 
and  there  are  repeated  instances  of  the  same  glaringly  obvious  errors  that 
have  been  exhibited  in  the  statistics  of  Florida.  For  example,  Smith 
county  returns  741  sheep,  and  1,067  Ibs.  of  wool;  Wayne  921  sheep,  and 
1,466  Ibs.  of  wool.  Jasper,  bounding  Smith  on  the  east,  returns  1,848 
nheep,  and  418  Ibs.  of  Wool;  and  Clarke,  bounding  Wayne  on  the  north, 
1,199  sheep,  and  188  Ibs.  of  wool !  By  this,  the  sheep  of  Clarke  shear  luss 
than  3  oz.  per  head,  while  those  of  the  next  county  shear  over  a  pound 
and  a  half  per  head.  There  are  various  other  instances  of  under  returns 
in  the  State. 

In  Alabama,  two  counties  returning  2,138  sheep,  return  no  wool;  and1 
in  eight  counties  there  are  the  same  glaring  instances  of  under  returns  witb- 
those  given  above. 

In  Georgia  there  is  but  one  omission  to  return  the  wool,  where  the 
sheep  are  returned.  In  that  county  there  were  3,360  sheep.  There  are- 
eight  or  nine  instances  of  obvious  under  returns,  but  these  in  the  aggre- 
gate of  the  State  are  partly  balanced  by  two  gross  cases  of  over  returns. 
Cobb  county  returns  3,524  sheep,  and  36,057  Ibs.  of  wool;  and  Richmond 
758  sheep,  and  3,032  Ibs.  of  wool ! 

In  South  Carolina  there  are  at  least  six  instances  of  under  returns. 

In  North  Carolina  there  are  no  returns  of  wool  in  one  county,  contain- 
ing 2,163  sheep,  and  in  another  7,260  Ibs.  of  wool  are  returned,  and  no. 
sheep.  There  are  ten  cases  of  obvious  under  returns.  In  one  of  them 
46,340  sheep  are  made  to  yield  but  12,686  ibs.  of  wool. 

In  Virginia  there  are  no  omissions,  and  no  obvious  under  returns.  There 
are  several  over  returns. 

In  Tennessee  there  are  no  omissions,  but  there  are  seven  obvious  under 
returns  and  two  or  three  over  returns. 

In  Kentucky  and  New-York  there  are  not  sufficient  erroneous  returns- 
to  materially  vary  the  aggregate. 

The  foregoing  facts  show  that  the  Marshals  in  many  counties  in  the 
most  southern  States   entirely  neglected  their  duty  in  returning  the  pro. 
duct  of  wool ;  and  where  over  or  under  returns  have  been  made,  it  is 
probable  that,  by  a  misapprehension  of  duty,  the  amount  of  wool  on  hand, 
was  ascertained  and  noted  down,  instead  of  the  annual  clip. 

And  there  is  another  and  general  error  in  these  statistics,  throughout  all 
the  States,  by  the  census  including  in  the  number  of  sheep  the  lambs  of 
the  current  season,  which  had  not,  of  course,  been  sheared  at  the  time  of 
taking  the  census.  A,  at  the  time  of  taking  the  census,  owned  a  flock  of 
200  sheep  over  me  year  old,  and  100  lambs.  He  would  o-ive  in  his  flock 


SHEEP    HUSBANDRY    IN    THE    SOUTH. 


to  the  Marshal  as  300,  of  course,  for  the  census  makes  no  distinction  be- 
tween lambs  and  grown  sheep.  He  gave  in  600  Ibs.  of  wool,  which  would 
be  3  Ibs.  per  head  for  those  which  had  been  sheared.  But  by  the  lambs 
being  included  in  the  census  returns,  it  is  made  to  appear  that  his  sheep 
sheared  but  2  Ibs.  of  wool  per  head.  In  the  next  census  the  lambs  and 
sheep  should  be  separately  returned,  not  only  to  obtain  accuracy,  (without 
which  iueh  statistics  are  valueless,)  but  the  annual  increase  thus  indicated 
\vould  be,  of  itself,  an  interesting  and  valuable  statistic. 

In  the  preceding  enumeration  of  erroneous  returns,  I  have  set  down 
none  as  under  returns  where  the  product  of  wool  has  not  been  given  as 
less  than  a  pound  per  head;  and  where  it  has  fallen  under  that  amount, 
the  returns  from  contiguous  counties,  possessing  the  same  natural  features, 
exhibiting  a  far  superior  product, as  well  as  the  general  complexion  of  the 
returns  throughout  the  State,  have  authorized  me  beyond  a  reasonable 
doubt  so  to  consider  it.  I  may  add,  that  it  is  a  fact  of  universal  notoriety 
that  there  is  no  variety  of  sheep  in  any  section  of  the  United  States,  whick 
shears  but  a  pound  of  \vool  per  head.*  A  careful  inspection  of  the  census, 
moreover,  will  not  fail  to  satisfy  any  one  that  there  are  a  multitude  of  under 
returns,  (not  specified  by  me,  as  the  product  is  given  over  1  Ib.  of  wool  per 
head,)  in  most  of  the  States.  This  is  shown  by  the  same  kind  of  compari- 
sons which  have  already  been  alluded  to.  These  are  far  more  common  in 
the  extreme  Southern  States,  where  wool  growing  had  not  yet  (in  1839) 
been  reduced  to  any  system,  and  where  sheep  had  been  little  looked  after 
or  regarded.  These  errors  grow  less,  as  we  approach  the  wool-growing 
regions  of  the  north  and  north-west. 

Taking  those  returns  which  we  are  authorized  to  consider  correct,t  it 
will  appear  that  there  is  no  great  difference  in  the  average  product  of  wool, 
per  head,  in  States  separated  by  from  ten  to  fifteen  degrees  of  latitude, 
and  no  more  than  is  clearly  referable  to  incidental  or  extraneous  causes, 
unless  we  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  difference  is  in  favor  of  the 
Southern  States.  In  proof  of  this,  the  following  table  is  offered,  giving 
the  products  of  some  of  those  counties  in  each  of  the  States  enumerated 
in  Tables  No.  1  and  No.  2,  which  exhibit  the  highest  averages  rer  head, 
(excluding  those  obviously  over  returned.)^ 


TABLE  No.  3. 


STATE. 

COUNTY. 

Average  Weight  of  Wool 
per  Sheep. 

Total  average  of 
the  Counties  given\\ 

Fauouier     .  '.  - 

Lbs.         -    Oz. 

2     2f|ff 
2     0#yft 
2     2-J~~— 
2     l||||9 

Lbs.       Oz. 

2     1} 

Harrison  

North  Carolina  < 

Ohio  

Rockingham  .  .  . 

Currituck  . 

a    ?«£ 

2     6JWV 

i  lajjHf* 
i    STW, 

2     0         1 

Person 

Perquimans  .  .  . 
Tvrrel.. 

*  I  consider  such  to  be  unde^  returns,  independent  of  the  mistake  made  by  including  lamba  ia  ih» 
•numeration, 

t  With  the  exception  of  the  error  arising  from  tne  return  of  lambs— which  perhaps  would  not  greatly 
»«ry  the  proportionable  result. 

\  It  is  proper  to  say  that  though  I  designed  to  t«ke  the  highest  averages.  I  did  not  go  through  a  formal 
reckoning  of  the  average  in  every  county  in  the  eleven  States.  1  took  those  which  appeared  the  highest 
after  a  somewhat  careful  general  inspection. 

y  Excluding  the  fractious  of  the  ounces  in  preceding  column. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


TABLE  No.  3—  (Continued.) 

STATE. 

COUNTV. 

Average  WeiglU  oj  Wool 
per  Sheep. 

'/'oia/  average  ttj 
Ike  Counties  given. 

\ 

Sou  tli  Cnrolina         .  •<, 

["  Beaufort    .      .  - 

Lbs.     Oz. 

2  ism* 

2    4jWr 
2     0 
1   12J-iff 

JLbs.     Oz. 

2     3 

Darlington  
Georgetown  .  .  . 
Richland  

Bibb         

2     3flft 
1   15W 
2   105Wj 
2     1|| 

2     3} 

JVIuiTav 

Florida 

I  \VI<TCTS 

vvloo    *  *  *  '  ' 

Ware         

Escambia 

i  HAV 

1   "Iff 
2  13-ft0, 

2     If 

Leon  

\ 

.Alabama                                 l 

Nassau 

I  Blount      

1  16tf 
2     6H« 

1   15TWo 
2     0-fHf 

2     1 

Jackson  

-A.utau°*a 

' 

Greene 

Claiborne  
Hinds    .... 

2     7fHt 

3 

2     7J|j. 

2    7£ 

[  Perry 

1 

Louisiana         •••••»  5 

\Varren  

Concordia. 
1  St.  Helena  
1  St.  Tammany  .  . 
Washington  — 

2   15UV 

i    7!SJi     . 

'jfSTT 

2  m 

1   14« 

2     11 

i 
Tennessee               .  .  .  •< 

1"  De  Kalb      .    .  . 

2     2U| 
2     4ii! 
2    OTiVrs 

9      2iA°45 

2     2} 

!  Franklin  

\  Smith  . 

1 

Wilson 

^ 

Bourbon 

O       113897 

«*     iaTTTff 
2   H^Vft 

;  V'w 

a      6TTT9      , 

2     7— 

Clarke      . 

Lawrence    "  . 

\ 
New-  York  «< 

Scott 

r  Westchester    .  . 
1  Ulster 

a  io*ftV 
2    s«y& 

O        O  5  7  6  6 

2     5         ! 

1  Saratoga  
Orleans  

2        ^-GoTl 
0        0  4  2  1  5  4 

f     ^6"9TirT 

Taking  these  averages  as  a  test,  it  would  appear  that  the  difference 
between  the  average  products  of  the  Southern  States  and  New  York  is,  in 
some  instances,  in  favor  of  the  former.  Kentucky  in  the  middle,  and  Mis- 
sissippi in  the  extreme  South,  exceed  the  average  of  New  York. 

It  is  proper  to  say,  however,  that  various  local  circumstances  may  have 
effected  these  results,  and  that  taking  the  average  of  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  counties,  in  the  several  States,  would  essentially  vary  them.  Not- 
withstanding this,  the  testimony  which  they  offer  is  important,  and  be- 
comes more  so  regarded  in  connection  with  another  circumstance.  The 
comparative  statistics  of  the  extreme  Southern  States  themselves  show 
that  in  a  majority  of  cases  their  best  products  of  wool  come  from  then 
Southern  and  warmer  counties. 

Of  the  four  counties  in  Louisiana,  the  product  of  which  is  given  aboi?«% 


22  SHEEP    HUSBANDRY    IN    THE    SOUTH. 

the  most  northern  lies  between  the  31st  and  32d  degrees  of  latitude,  and 
all  of  the  other  three  south  of  latitude  31°.  St.  Tammany,  which  exhibits 
the  second  best  product,  borders  on  Lake  Pontchartrain.  The  State  ex- 
tends north  to  latitude  33°. 

In  Florida,  all  the  counties  given  lie  in  the  same  latitudes. 

Mississippi  extends  north  to  latitude  35°.  All  the  counties  given  are 
eouth  of  32°  30',  and  one  in  latitude  31°. 

In  Alabama,  extending  north  to  the  same  latitude  with  the  above,  two 
of  the  counties  given  are  in  the  northern  or  mountain  region,  and  two  of 
them  south  of  33°. 

In  Georgia,  (same  northern  line,)  one  of  the  counties  given  is  in  the  ex- 
treme north,  two  south  of  33°  and  one  in  latitude  31°,  being  the  county 
in  which  lies  the  major  portion  of  the  Great  Okefinokee  Swamp  ! 

In  South  Carolina,  two  of  the  counties  (both  bordering  on  the  ocean) 
are  in  the  low,  marshy,  tide-water  region ;  and  the  other  two  are  in  the 
central  region. 

In  North  Carolina,two  of  the  counties  given  join  the  ocean ;  one  is  on  Albe- 
marle  Sound,  while  one  lies  in  the  central  and  northern  portion  of  the  State. 

In  comparing  the  product  of  wool  in  the  Southern  States  with  that  of 
the  Northern — and  more  particularly  with  that  of  New-York — we  must 
not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  in  the  latter  wool  growing  has  become  an 
important  business,  and  is  reduced  to  a  system.  The  sheep  are  kept  in 
pastures,  and  are  sheared  at  regular  intervals.  In  the  Carolinas,  Georgia, 
and  the  Gulf  States,  precisely  the  reverse  of  all  this  was  generally  true, 
at  least  up  to  the  year  1839.  The  sheep  were  little  cared  for;  were  suf- 
fered to  breed  promiscuously  ;  and  they  roamed  at  large  through  forests, 
where,  as  the  warm  season  advanced  in  the  spring,  their  wool,  beginning 
to  detach  itself,  was  left  on  shrubs  and  brambles,  arid  in  not  rare  instances 
considerable  portions  of  it  were  thus  lost  prior  to  shearing.* 

Giving  their  due  weight  to  the  preceding  facts,  the  defects  in  the  census; 
etc.,  it  is,  I  think,  undeniable  that  they  account  for  all  the  deficiency  in 
the  average  product  of  wool  per  sheep  in  our  most  southern  States,  com- 
pared with  that  of  New- York,  as  set  forth  in  Table  No.  2.  Indeed,  sir, 
my  own  convictions  are  decided,  and  the  facts  reported  appear  to  fully 
sustain  them,  that  warmth  of  temperature,  at  least  to  a  point  equaling  thd 
highest  mean  temperature  in  the  United  States,  is  not  injurious,  but  abso 
lately  conducive  to  the  production  of  wool.  The  causes  of  this  are  in- 
volved in  no  mystery.  Warm  climates  afford  green  and  succulent  herb- 
age during  a  greater  portion  of  the  year  than  cold  ones.  Sheep  plentifully 
supplied  with  green  herbage  keep  in  higher  condition  than  when  confined 
to  that  which  is  dry.  High  condition  promotes  those  secretions  which  form 
wool.  Every  one  at  all  conversant  with  sheep  well  knows  that  if  kept 
fleshy  the  year  round,  they  produce  far  more  wool  than  if  kept  poor.  A 
half  a  pound's  difference  per  head  is  readily  made  in  this  way.  Within 
the  maximum  and  minimum  of  the  product  of  a  sheep  or  a  flock,  the  ra- 
tio of  production  always  coincides  with  that  of  condition. 

I  have  dwelt  on  this  point  at  great  and  perhaps  tedious  length,  sir,  as 
the  results  set  forth  in  the  United  States  Census,  unexplained-,  would 
clearly  point  to  a  different  conclusion  from  that  to  which  I.  have  arrived. 
To  invalidate  testimony,  ostensibly  so  certain  and  reliable,  as  well  as  to 
combat  deep-rooted  prejudices,  I  have  deemed  it  necessary  to  scan  thor- 
oughly the  accessible  facts  in  the  case. 

*  I  make  no  account  of  difference  in  breeds,  as  affecting  the  product  of  wool  between  the  Romh  and 
Horth.  The  crude  Merino?,  not  uncommon  in  New-York,  would  produce  far  more  wool  than  the  "na- 
tives," the  principal  sheep  in  the  South  in  1839.  But  the  latter  would  equal  or  exceed  the  product  of  th< 
numerous  Saxon  flocks  of  New- York. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  23 


LETTER   II. 

EFFECT   OF   CLIMATE,   CONTINUED. 


Effect  of  Climate  on  quality  of  Wool...  Warmth  of  Climate  renders  Wool  coarser — Reasons ...  Effect  of 
Herbage... Opinions  of  Youatt— Doctor  Parry— English  Staplers— Writer.  ..Can  the  tendency  to  grow 
coarser  be  resisted?.  ..Opinions  of  Youatt — Lasteyrie — Mr.  Lawrence...  Experiment  in  Australia— Cape  of 
Good  Hope— South' of  Illinois— Kentucky— Tennessee— Mississippi— New-York...  Warm  Climates  render 
Wools  softer  and  longer,  thus  adding  materially  to  their  value. .  .Proved  to  be  the  case  in  Australia. .  .Tes- 
timony of  English  Wool-factors  and  Staplers... Same  effect  produced  in  the  United  States... Testimony 
cf  Mr.  Cockrill. 

Dear  Sir :  We  come  now  to  discuss  the  effect  of  Climate  on  the  quality 
of  WOOL 

There  can  be  but  little  doubt,  other  things  being  equal,  that  the  pelage 
of  the  Sheep  and  some  other  animals,  becomes  finer  in  cold  climates  and 
coarser  in  warm  ones.  This  is  usually  attributed,  by  theoretical  writers, 
to  the' effect  of  cold  and  heat  in  contracting  or  expanding  the  pores.  This 
may  have  some  effect,  but  to  suppose  that  the  delicate  tissues  of  the  skin 
can  act,  to  any  great  extent,  mechanically,  in  compressing  the  harder  and 
highly  elastic  ones  of  the  hair  or  wool,  or  compel  their  attenuation  so  as 
to  permit  their  escape  through  diminished  apertures,  like  the  process  of  , 
wire  drawing,  is,  it  seems  to  me,  to  assume  that  matter  acts  contrary  to 
its  ordinary  laws.  I  am  rather  disposed  to  look  for  the  causes  of  this 
phenomenon,  in  the  amount  and  quality  of  the  nutriment  received  by  the 
animal.  It  was  stated,  in  my  preceding  letter,  that  warm  climates,  by 
affording  succulent  herbage  during  a  greater  portion  of  the  year,  maintain 
in  greater  activity  those  secretions  which  form  wool,  and  thus  increase  the 
quantity  or  weight  of  the  fleece.  The  weight  is  increased  by  increasing 
the  length  and  thickness  of  the  separate  fibres,  just  as  plants  put  forth 
longer  and  thicker  stems  on  rich  soils  than  on  poor  ones. 

Mr.  Youatt,  in  his  excellent  and  much  quoted  work  on  Sheep,  after  dis- 
cussing and  admitting,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  influence  of  warm  temper- 
atures in  rendering  wool  coarser,  says  : 

"  Pasture  has  a  far  greater  influence  on  the  fineness  of  the  fleece.  The  staple  of  the  wool, 
like  every  other  part  of  the  sheep,  must  increase  in  length  or  in  bulk  when  the  animal  has 
a  superabundance  of  nutriment ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  secretion  which  forms  the  wool 
must  decrease  like  every  other,  when  sufficient  nourishment  is  not  afforded.  When  little 
cold  has  been  experienced  in  the  winter,  and  vegetation  has  been  scarcely  checked,  the 
sheep  yield  an  abundant  crop  of  wool,  but 'the  fleece  is  perceptibly  coarser  as  well  as 
heavier.  When  frost  has  been  severe  and  the  ground  long  covered  with  snow — if  the  flock 
has  been  fairly  supplied  with  nutriment,  although  the  fleece  may  have  lost  a  little  in  weight, 
it  will  have  acquired  a  superior  degree  of  fineness  and  a  proportionate  increase  of  value,' 
Should,  however,  the  sheep  have  been  neglected  and  starved  during  this  prolongation  of 
cold  weather,  the  fleece  as  well  as  the  carcass  is  thinner ;  and  although  it  may  have  pre- 
served its  smallness  of  filament,  it  has  lost  in  weight  and  strength  and  usefulness.  These 
are  self-evident  facts,  and  need  not  be  enforced  by  any  labored  argument."* 

Doct.  Parry,  a  correct  and  able  English  writer,  remarks  : 

"  Sheep  breeders  have  observed  a  sort  of  gross  connection  between,  the  food  and  quality 
of  the  fleece.  .  .  .  The  fineness  of  a  sheep  s  fleece  of  a  given  breed  is,  within  certain 
limits,  inversely  as  its  fatness,  and  perhaps  also  (although  I  am  not  certain  on  this  point)  aa 
the  quickness  with  which  it  grows  fat.  A  sheep  which  is  fat  has  usually  comparatively 
coarse  \\<<«oi,  and  one  which  is  lean,  either  from  want  of  food  or  disease,  has  the  finest  wool; 
and  the  veij'  same  sheep  may  at  different  times,  according  to  these  circumstances,  hava 
fleeces  of  all  tin.  Sxtermediate  qualities  from  extreme  fineness  to  comparative  coarseness." 

*  Yooatt  on  Sheep,  p  '''O. 


24  SHEEP    HUSBANDRY    IN    THE    SOUTH. 

In  an  examination  before  the  English  House  of  Lords,  in  1828,  various 
eminent  staplers*  testify,  most  decidedly,  to  the  deterioration  (in  fineness) 
of  the  British  wools  and  their  increase  in  length  of  staple,  "  since  the 
introduction  of  artificial  food  and  the  adoption  of  the  forcing  system.'5 

My  own  observations  fully  corroborate  these  positions.  I  have  exam- 
ined, in  repeated  instances,  with  a  good  microscope,  the  wool  of  incivid- 
ual  sheep  in  my  flock,  taken  in  seasons  when  they  have  maintained  a  high 
condition,  and  in  others,  when,  from  some  incidental  cause  they  have  been 
in  ordinary  or  poor  condition,  and  the  difference  in  length  and  fineness  is, 
uniformly,  distinctly  perceptible. 

If  the  sheep  breeder  in  warm  climates  can  take  advantage  of  the  ten 
;lency  to  produce  greater  quantities  of  wool,  following  that  supply  of  suc- 
.culent  herbage  throughout  the  year  which  Nature  has  placed  at  his  disposal, 
and  at  the  same  time,  by  any  unexpensive  means  which  he  can  employ, 
combat  the  correlative  tendency  to  increased  coarseness  of  fibre,  he  has 
•most  assuredly,  other  things  being  equal,  an  entire  advantage  over  the 
breeder  in  colder  regions. 

We  come  now  to  the  important  inquiry,  Can  this  latter  tendency  be 
successfully  combated  ;  or,  in  other  words,  can  wool  of  any  desirable 
fineness  be  produced  in  countries  as  warm,  for  example,  as  Louisiana, 
Mississippi,  &c.  1 

Let  us  examine  Mr.  Youatt's  testimony  on  this  point  also.  He  says : 
"  Temperature  and  pasture  have  influence  on  the  fineness  of  the  fibre,  and  one  whicn  the 
farmer  should  never  disregai'd  ;  but  he  may,  in  a  great  measure,  counteract  this  influence  by 
careful  management  and  selection  in  breeding.  ...  A  better  illustration  of  this  cannot 
be  found  than  in  the  fact  that  the  Merino  lias  been  transplanted  to  every  latitude  on  the 
temperate  zone,  and  some  beyond  it — to  Sweden  in  the  North  and  Australia  in  the  South — 
and  has  retained  its  tendency  to  produce  wool  exclusively,  and  wool  of  nearly  equal  fineness 
and  value. "t 

Mr.    Lasteyrie,   equally  good   authority,  uses   the  following  language. 
When  he  speaks  of  the  preservation  of  the  breed  in  its  "  utmost  purity," 
we  are  undoubtedly  to  understand  him  to  refer  as  much  to  the  fineness  of 
the  wool  as  any  other  point,  this  being  the  distinguishing  mark  or  excel 
lence  of  the  breed. 

1  The  preservation  of  the  Merino  race  in  its  utmost  purity  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  in 
the  marshes  of  Holland,  and  under  the  rigorous  climate  of  Sweden,  furnish  an  additional 
support  of  this,  my  unalterable  principle :  fine  wool  sheep  may  be  kept  wherever  iutelli 
geat  breeders  exist. "$ 

Samuel  Lawrence,  Esq.  the  head  of  the  great  Lowell  Manufacturing 
Company,  in  Massachusetts,  who,  by  his  vast  purchases  of  fine  wool  in  all 
parts  of  the  United  States  for  a  long  term  of  years,  and  his  intimate  prac- 
tical acquaintance  with  the  quality  of  the  article,  is  entitled  to  have  his 
opinion  on  this  point  regarded  as  of  as  great  weight  as  that  of  any  other 
individual,  says  : 

"  That  the  properties  of  wool  are  affected  by  herbage  and  soil,  I  have  not  a  doubt,  and 
were  it  not  invidious,  I  would  name  some  sections  where  wool  growers  are  greatly  favored 
by  Nature.  One  thing  is  certain,  whatever  may  be  the  character  of  the  soil,  where  there 
are  good  shepherds  there  is  sure  to  be  found  good  wool.  By  judicious  selections  and  cross- 
ing, I  believe  a  breed  may  be  reared  which  will  give  four  pounds  of  exquisitely  fine  wool 
lo  the  fleece."|| 

This  last  sentence  of  this  important  extract,  though  not  bearing  so  par- 
ticularly on  the  point  under  examination,  is  recorded  in  its  original  con- 
nection for  subsequent  reference. 

Australia  and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  being  cited  by  the  distinguished 

*Youat*  on  Sheep,  p.  71,  where  the  names  and  testimony  of  these  Individ  aals  are  given ;  and  more  at 
length  in  Bischoff  on  Wools,  &c.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  118— 200.  tPp-C9— 70. 

I  Lwtevrie  on  Merino  Sheep,  p.  101.  fi  Letter  of  Mr.  L-,  published  in  '  American  gkapherd,"  p.  430, 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


English  and  French  writers  above  quoted,  as  offering  instances  of  the  per- 
fectly successful  acclimation  of  Merinos,  without  deterioration  of  tlieir 
wool,  in  warm  climates,  it  may  be  well  to  inquire  a  little  more  particularly 
what  the  climate  of  those  countries  is ;  and  what,  if  any,  the  other  cir- 
cumstances connected  with  them,  having  an  influence  on  the  quality  of 
the  wools  grown  in  them. 

Port  Jackson,  in  Australia,  in  the  vicinity  of  which  the  Merinos  were 
first  introduced,  and  are  now  extensively  bred,  lies  in  33°  55'  South  lati- 
tude, corresponding  as  nearly  with  the  latitude  of  Georgetown,  South 
Carolina,  as  that  of  any  othei  important  point  in  our  country.*  In  do 
scribing  this  region  (New  South  Wales)  Malte  Brun  says  : 

"  The  coast  itself  is  high  but  not  mountainous  ;  and  it  is  partly  shaded  by  trees  of  gigantic 
size.  Toward  the  south-east  a  great  part  is  covered  with  coppice ;  much  also  is  occupied 
with  marshes.  About  Botany  Bayt  the  soil  is  black,  rich  and  exceedingly  productive  iji 
plants.  The  north-east  part  seems  lower.  The  coast  is  covered  with  mangroves.  .  .  . 
The  heat  of  December  rises  to  112°  Fahrenheit.  The  forests  and  the  grass  have  been  known 
spontaneously  to  take  fire.t  The  North-west  wind,  like  the  Khamseen  of  Egypt,  scorches 
the  soil  and  reduces  it  to  a  light  dust.  .  .  .  Notwithstanding  these  disadvantages,  tho 
climate  is  very  healthy,  and  very  favorable  to  population.  .  .  .  Those  parts  in  which 
different  trials  have  been  made  have  rather  too  warm  a  climate  for  common  barley  and  oata. 
though  these  grains  have  been  found  to  succeed  tolerably  well  on  the  poorer  soils.  .  . 
All  the  vegetables  grown  in  England  are  produced  in  the  English  colony.  .  .  Peaches, 
apricots,  nectarines,  oranges,  lemons,  guavas,  loquets,  cherries,  walnuts,  almonds,  grape* 
pears,  pomegranates  and  melons  attain  the  highest  maturity  in  the  open  air."|| 

The  country,  most  of  it,  is  remarkably  deficient  in  water, §  though  many 
portions  are  subject  to  destructive  inundations.^}  Its  drouths  are  unequaled 
for  their  duration  and  intensity  in,  perhaps,  any  inhabited  portion  of  the 
globe.**  Its  vast  plains,  occasionally  highly  fertile,  but  more  usually,  only 
*n  detached  spots,  afford  pasture  throughout  the  year. 

The  physical  features  of  this  country,  its  system  of  sheep  husbandly, 
etc.  will  be  more  particularly  alluded  to  hereafter. 

The  English  first  introduced  into  this  remote  possession  the  coarse  hairy 
sheep  of  Bengal.  In  the  short  space  of  three  years  these  were  so  far 
changed  by  the  effect  of  the  climate  and  other  circumstances,  that  then 
hair  was  entirely  gone,  and  was  succeeded  by  a  fleece  of  wool.tt  The 
South-Down  and  Leicesters  were  subsequently  introduced,  and  theii 
crosses  with  the  Bengal  sheep  soon  became  as  fine  as  the  pure  bloods  of 
the  former.  At  length  some  Merinos  were  imported  by  the  colonists, 
and,  says  Mr.  Youatt,  "  The  experiment  was  satisfactory  beyond  their  ex- 
pectation. The  third  or  fourth  cross  with  the  then  prevalent  sheep  of  tho 
colony  produced  an  animal  with  a  fleece  equal  to  that  of  the  pure  Merino 
in  Europe ;  and  the  wool  of  the  pure  blood  seemed  to  improve  as  rapidly 
as  the  native  breed  had  done. "If  In  1810,  the  export  of  wool  from  Aus- 
tralia and  Van  Dieman's  Land  was  167  Ibs. ;  in  1833,  it  had  reached 
3,516,869  Ibs.ljH  In  1843,  it  amounted  to  16,226,4*00  lbs.§§ 

The  following,  from  a  table  in  McCulloch's  Dictionary  of  Commerce, 
will  show  the  current  prices  (reduced  to  American-  currency)  of  some  of 
the  imported  and  domestic  wools,  in  London,  March,  1834  : 


$  cts.      $  cts. 

SPANISH..... perlb.  —  60  to  —  77 

PORTUGUESE —  44  "  —  62 

GERMAN.  SAXON,  &c — 48"    1  15 

AUSTRALIAN  ..  ..  —  50  "    1  00 


ENGLISH  :  $  cts.      $  ctn 

North  &  South-Down,  perlb.  —  44  to  —  48 

Leicester —  33  "  —  4<T 

Lincoln,    Cotswold,    llomney 

Marsh —  40  «  —  4i 


*  Georgetown  is  perhaps  half  a  degree  nearer  the  Equator, 
t  This  place  is  twelve  miles  south  of  Port  Jackson. 

J  Malte  Brun  cites  Collins  (an  aiithor  frequently  quoted  in  relation  to  New  South  Wales)  for  this  strong 
ind,  perhaps,  exaggerated  assertion.  ||  Malte  Brun,  vol.  i.  pp.  600—605. 

§  Spooner,  Youatt,  etc.  fl  Malte  Brun.  **  See  McCulloch's  Commercial  Dictionary. 

ft  Youatt  on  Sheep,  p  184.    Spooner,  Diseases  of  Sheep,  p.  62. 

U  Ib.  v.  184.  [Ill  Ib.  et  Spooner.  §§  Spooner. 


26  SHEEP   HUSBANDRY    IN   THE    SOUTH. 


It  will  be  seen  from  this,  that  the  best  Australian  wools  already  excelled 
the  best  Spanish,  and  were  more  than  midway  between  them  and  the  best 
^axon.  When  we  consider  the  almost  infinite  difference  in  the  care,  both 
in  breeding  and  management,  bestowed  on  the  Saxon  and  Australian  sheep, 
it  shows  most  conclusively  the  adaptation  of  the  ciimate  of  Australia  to 
tho  production  of  the  finest  wool — or,  at  least,  that  the  adverse  effects  of 
iis  warm  temperature,  and  the  incidents  to  that  temperature,  are  easily 
overcome.  IriuSaxony,  sheep  are  numbered,  oftentimes  their  separate  ped- 
igrees registered,  and  each  breeding  ewe  is  stinted  to  a  ram  carefully  se- 
lected with  reference  to  her  individual  qualities.  In  Australia,  where  less 
capital  and  labor  are  employed,  flocks  of  about  three  hundred  breeding 
ewes* — where  the  country  is  destitute  of  timber,  sometimes  a  thousand! — 
loam  from  one  fertile  and  watered  spot  to  another  over  the  vast  plains,  in 
charge  of  the  convict  shepherd ;  and  this  system  is  followed  throughout 
the  year,  including  the  tupping  season.  Three  flocks  are  always  penned 
together  at  night,f  so  that  as  many  as  nine  hundred  breeding  ewes,  of  va- 
rying quality,  must  be  promiscuously  bred  to,  say,  from  thirty  to  thirty-five 
lams,  running  promiscuously  among  them. 

The  Cape  of  Good  Hope  is  in  south  latitude  34°  23'  40". 

Mr.  Youatt,  in  describing  the  sheep  husbandry  of  this  region,  overesti- 
mated, I  think,  the  heat  of  the  climate.  Separated  by  lofty  mountain 
ranges  from  the  interior  of  Africa,  the  fertile  regions  adjoining  the  coast 
are  not  swept  by  its  scorching  winds,  and  the  temperature  is  comparatively 
mild.  "  In  a  meteorological  register  kept  at  Cape  Town,  from  Sept.  1818 
to  Sept.  1821,  embracing  a  period  of  three  years,  the  highest  heat  marked 
is  96°,  the  lowest  45°,  Fahrenheit.  The  mean  and  annual  temperature 
scarcely  68° — of  winter  61°,  of  summer  89°."j|  But  sheep  and  their  wool 
suffer  from  the  fine  sands  which  are  lifted  and  driven  by  the  prevailing 
winds.  Says  Malte  Brun,  "  the  wind  blows  often  from  the  south-east  with 
great  violence.  Nothing  can  be  secured  from  the  sands  which  it  drives 
before  it;  they  penetrate  the  closest  apartments  and  the  best-closed  trunk*;. 
At  this  time  it  is  not  prudent  to  go  out  without  glasses,  lest  the  eyes  should 
be  injured."§ 

Though  the  climate  can  scarcely  be  designated  a  "torrid"  one,  as  Mr. 
Youatt  speaks  of  it,  the  mean  temperature  of  its  winter  (61°)  conclusively 
shows  that  cold  can  have  nothing  to  do  here  with  rendering  the  wool  finei 
by  a  contraction  of  the  pores.  If,  therefore,  it  can  be  shown  that  the  wool 
of  the  fine  breeds  does  not  deteriorate  in  quality,  it  sufficiently  proves  that 
Australia  is  not  an  incidental  exception  in  the  testimony  which  it  presents 
on  the  point  under  examination,  but  that  it  illustrates  the  uniform  opera- 
tion of  the  physical  laws  which  pertain  to  the  growth  of  wool. 

After  one  or  two  unsuccessful  attempts,  the  Merinos  were  acclimated 
at  the  Cape  by  the  English  colonists.  In  1S04,  the  colony  numbered  536,- 
634  sheep.  In  1811,  there  were  1,293,740.  In  1810,  the  import  of  wool 
into  Great  Britain  was '29,717  Ibs. ;  in  1833,  it  was  93,325  lbs.fi 

In  Willmer  &  Smith's  "  Liverpool  Annual  Wool  Report,"  for  1846,  it 
is  stated,  "  The  shipments  from  this  quarter  (Cape  of  Good  Hope)  show 
great  improvement,  amply  testified  by  the  high  rates  the  best  flocks  have 
commanded  during  the  season.  .  .  The  best  parcels  now  take  rank 
with  those  from  Australia."**  The  system  of  breeding  and  general  man- 
agement at  the  Cape  closely  correspond  with  those  of  Australia. 

Let  us  now,  sir,  turn  to  the  experience  of  our  own  country.     I  do  nol 

*  Cunninsham's  "Two  Years  in  South  Walrs.''  t  lb.  J  Ib. 

l|  Malte  Brun,  vol.  ii.  p.  112.  $  lb.  vol.  ii    p.  112. 

V  Youatt  on  Sheep,  p.  184.  **  Willincr  &.  Smith's  European  Times  of  Jan.  4,  1846. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


know  that  a  sufficient  number  of  experiments  have  bee",  made  as  near  the 
Equator  as  Cape  Town  and  Port  Jackson,  to  have  their  testimony  regard- 
ed as  entirely  decisive  on  the  point  under  consideration,  but  those  have 
been  made  which  throw  much  light  on  this  question,  if,  indeed,  any  more 
is  considered  necessary.  In  the  south  of  Illinois  (Edwards  county),  in 
about  latitude  38°  30',  the  finest  varieties  of  sheep  were  introduced  by 
Mr.  George  Flower,  about  twenty  years  since,  from  which  he  has  bred  up 
an  extensive  flock.  That  gentleman  says  :*  "  No  deterioration  in  the  wool 
has  taken  place  ;  on  the  contrary,  the  wool  fibre  is  somewhat  finer."  I 
have  myself  seen  various  specimens  of  Mr.  Flower's  wool,  of  the  clip  of 
1844,  and  it  bore  an  excellent  character  for  fineness  and  evenness. 

In  a  letter  which  I  received  from  Hon.  Henry  Clay,  in  1839,  he  says  : 
"  I  have  for  some  years  had  only  the  pure  Saxony  at  my  residence  ;  but  I 
am  now  satisfied  that  I  should  have  derived  more  profit  from  sheep  pro- 
ducing a  wool  less  fine.f  The  climate  of  Kentucky  is,  however,  well 
adapted  to  the  Saxon  sheep."  Mr.  Clay's  residence  is  in  about  latitude  38°. 

Mr.  Mark  R.  Cockrill,  of  Nashville,  Tennessee,  in  a  letter  published  in 
the  American  Shepherd,|  says  : 

"  I  have  about  a  thousand  head  of  fine  sheep,  and  from  400  to  500  long-wooled  or  mutton 
eheep.  My  Saxon  sheep  were  imported  in  1824  or  '26  —  I  cannot  say  which  —  and  I  find  as 
yet  no  falling  off  in  quantity  or  quality  of  their  fleeces  ;  on  the  contrary,  I  believe  a  little 
improvement  on  both  points,  and  a  little  more  yolk,  when  well  provided  for,  which,  you 
know,  does  not  abound  much  in  the  Saxon  breed.  In  addition,  the  fleeces  are  a  little  more 
compact  than  formerly  —  hence  more  weight  ;  and,  from  our  mild  climate,  the  staple  has  be- 
come longer.  .  .  I  assert  it  to  be  a  fact  that  the  cotton  region  I  am  now  in  [Mr.  Cockrill 
dates  from  Madison  county,  Mississippi,  where  a  part  of  his  sheep  are  kept],  in  about  lati 
tude  32°  north,  is  better  than  any  country  north  of  it  to  grow  wool,  as  the  sheep  can  be  kept 
all  the  time  grazing,  by  sowing  small  grain  ;  for,  if  grazed  off,  it  quickly  grows  again  in  a 
"ew  days  ;  and  the  wool  of  the  fine  Saxon  sheep  in  this  climate  is  softer  and  more  cotton-like 
than  any  I  have  ever  seen,  although  I  have  samples  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  I  have 
traveled  from  this  very  place  to  Boston,  sampling  all  the  sheep  of  note  on  the  way,  and  I 
found  nothing  011  my  journey  or  at  Boston  as  good  as  the  wool  I  had  grown,  and  so  said  all 
the  wool  staplers  whom  I  met  with,  and  they  were  not  a  few.  I  presumed,  in  reality,  that 
the  blood  of  my  sheep  was  no  better  than  many  I  saw,  but  the  superiority  of  my  wool  I  as- 
cribed to  our  climate,  and  the  provision  for  the  sheep  of  succulent  food  the  year  round.— 
The  weight  of  my  fleeces  is  fair  —  say  from  3  to  5£  Ibs.  each.  .  .  Tennessee  is  not  the  true 
grass  climate  ;  about  28°  north  is  the  most  congenial  for  grass  :  notwithstanding,  our  State  is 
fair  for  pasture  ;  blue  and  oi'chard  grass,  white  and  red  clover,  prosper  pretty  well.  .  . 
There  is  much  country  in  Tennessee  and  other  Southern  States  not  fit  for  the  plow,  and 
would  do  admirably  well  for  fine-wooled  sheep,  and  can  be  profitably  so  employed.  A  small 
capital  thus  appropriated  here  in  Mississippi  would  3o  better  than  cotton  growing  at  present 
prices." 

Nashville  is  in  about  latitude  37°  15'  ;  and  Madison  county,  Mississippi 
is  about  half  a  degree  farther  north  than  mentioned  by  Mr.  Cockrill,  viz 
extending  from  32^°  to  33°  ;  its  county  seat  (Canton)  being  more  than  a 
degree  nearer  the  Equator  than  Port  Jackson  in  Australia,  and  about  twc 
degrees  nearer  than  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  ! 

Mr.  Morrel,  the  compiler  of  the  "  American  Shepherd,"  has  obtained 
specimens  of  Mr.  Cockrill's  wool,  and  he  says  of  them,  "  Judging  from  the 
samples,  the  conclusion  is  inevitable  that  little  or  no  deterioration  has  been 
produced  by  the  climate."|| 

This  testimony  of  Mr.  Cockrill  is  very  important,  both  from  the  length 
and  extent  of  the  experiment.  I  have  no  doubt  of  the  perfect  correctnesb 
of  his  assertion  that  his  wool  has  improved  in  those  low  latitudes  ;  but  the 
cause  assigned  by  him  cannot  be  received  as  the  correct  one,  so  far  as  the 
increased  fineness  of  the  fibre  is  concerned.  The  improvement  in  this  par- 
ticular, under  a  system  of  feeding  which  has  "  increased"  both  the  "  quan- 

"  In  a  letter  published  in  the  Prairie  Farmer.        t  Mr.  Clay  here  alludes  to  the  MeMnos. 
J  P.  409.  11  American  Shepherd,  p.  41. 


28  SHEEP    HUSBANDRY    IN  THE    SOUTH. 

tity"  and  the  "  yolk"  of  the  fleece,  cannot  be  ascribed  to  the  climate,  1101 
to  the  feeding  itself.  It  is  undoubtedly  owing  to  Mr.  C.'s  system  of  breed 
ing  and  selection,  a  point  which  will  be  fully  discussed  hereafter. 

If  feed  or  condition  exercise  the  principal  influence  on  the  fineness  of 
wool  (that  is,  within  the  range  of  variation  to  which  it  is  subject  oil  the 
same  individuals),  it  follows  that  the  effect  may  be  produced  in  any  climate, 
for  high  condition  throughout  the  year  is  attainable  in  the  most  rigorous 
ones,  by  the  supply  of  plentiful  and  rich  food.  The  wool  secretions  aro 
incident  mi  condition — fatness,  however  superinduced.*  It  again  fpllows 
that  if  wool  of  the  highest  degree  of  fineness  (for  the  breed)  can  be  pro- 
duced in  New-York,  although  the  sheep  is  kept  in  a  decidedly  fat  state 
throughout  the  year — quite  as  fat  as  it  would  become,  grazing  on  green 
feed  all  the  year  round — that  wool  of  equal  fineness  can  be  produced  by 
the  observance  of  the  same  influencing  conditions  (apart  from  feed)  by  the 
southern  breeder. 

Here  again,  undeterred  by  any  considerations  of  what  I  deem  a  false 
modesty,  I  shall  offer  facts  founded  on  my  own  personal  experience  as  a 
sheep  breeder ;  and  I  would  remark,  once  for  all,  that  throughout  the 
whole  of  these  letters  I  shall  never  so  far  prefer  beliefs  founded  on  the  as- 
sertions of  others,  to  actual  knowledge,  based  on  facts  repeatedly  and  con- 
stantly brought  under  my  personal  inspection,  for  a  number  of  years,  as 
to  suppress  the  latter,  to  rely  solely  on  the  former. 

I  have  succeeded,  in  repeated  instances,  in  producing  an  exquisite  qual- 
ity of  wool,  decidedly  above  the  average  of  the  breed  (Merino)  in  tlio 
heavy  fleeces  of  sheep  kept  fat  the  year  round.  I  have  made  it  a  sort  of 
a  test  latterly,  in  the  selection  of  rams,  to  choose  only  those  which  not 
only  carry  heavy  fleeces,  in  any  condition,  but  which,  in  the  highest,  yield 
a  wool  equaling  the  choicest  samples  to  be  found  on  this  variety.  These 
facts  will,  by  and  by,  be  placed  in  a  definite  and  tangible  form,  by  the  re- 
corded testimony  of  the  scales  and  the  microscope. 

But  though  the  natural  effects  of  warm  climates  and  their  incidents,  to 
increase  the  bulk  or  coarseness  of  the  fibre,  is  one  which  can  easily  be  re- 
sisted, they  work  a  change  of  another  kind  in  the  character  of  wool.  They 
cause  a  longer  fibre  and  a  greater  softness  of  staple.  The  effect  of  succu- 
lent nutriment  during  the  year  in  increasing  the  amount  of  the  wool  will 
exhibit  itself;  but  the  skill  of  the  breeder  can  so  far  regulate  its  action, 
that  the  increase  is  in  the  length,'  rather  than  in  the  diameter  or  bulk  of  the 
fibres.  It  is  not  difficult  to  conjecture  why  a  staple  of  more  rapid  growth, 
supplied  to  excess  with  the  secretions  which  enter  into  its  composition,  un- 
exposed  to  great  and  rapid,  variations  of  temperature,  should  retain  a 
greater  degree  of  softness  than  one  produced  under  opposite  conditions. 
But,  whatever  the  causes  of  these  phenomena,  their  existence  is  placed 
beyond  a  doubt. 

The  increased  length  of  staple,  resulting  from  the  nutriment  of  warm 
climates,  has  been  sufficiently  adverted  to.  The  following  statements  made 
by  some  of  the  most  eminent  wool-factors,  staplers,  etc.  in  England,  before 
a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Lords,  in  1828,  place  the  other  point  beyond 
controversy.! 

Mr.  Henry  Hughes,  wool-broker,  London,  says : 

*  No  one  has  asserted,  BO  far  as  I  am  informed,  that  dry  feed  will  produce  less  woo*,  than  preen  feed,  if 
the  same  degree  of  fatness  is  kept  up.  On  the  other  hand,  the  rich  cereal  grains,  oil-cake,  &c.  (without 
•ome  of  which  a  high  degree  of  fatness  cannot  be  maintained,  on  dry  feed  alone,  during  the  four  or  five 
months'  winter  in  latitudes  north  of  42°),  might  be  supposed  to  be  quite  aa  conducive  to  the  production  of 
wool  as  grasses. 

t  For  extended  minutes  of  this  very  interesting  investigation  into  the  state  of  the  wjol-trnde,  &c.  ike.  ia 
Great  Britain,  see  Bischoff  on  Wool.  &c.,  vol.  ii.  p.  118  to  200. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  29 

u  Latterly  they  (Australian  and  Van  Dienmn's  Land  wools)  have  been  of  varied  qualities, 
but  all  possessing  an  extraordinary  softness,  which  the  manufacturers  here  so  muct  admire 
that  they  are  sought  for  more  than  any  other  description  of  wools,  from  that  peculiar  quality, 
which  is  supposed  to  arise  from  the  climate  alone.  They  are  known  to  require  less  of  the 
milling  or  fulling  power  than  any  other  descriptions  of  wools.  .  .  They  are  better  adapted 
than  the  German,  wools  to  mix  with  British  wools,  because  the  superior  softness  which  I 
have  stated  gives  a  character,  when  mixed  with  English  wool,  that  the  other  does  not,  from 
the  hardness  of  the  fibre."* 

Mr.  Stewart  Donaldson,  merchant,  London,  says : 

"  I  haye  no  hesitation  in  pronouncing  that  the  wools  of  New  South  "Wales  and  Van  Die- 
man's  Land  are  decidedly  preferred  to  the  apparently  similar  descriptions  of  German  wool. 
.  .  .  They  have  a  softness  and  silkiness  about  them  which,  when  worked  up  into  cloth, 
shows  itself  more  distinctly  than  in  the  raw  material.  I  conceive  that  it  is  dependent  on  the 
climate  alone.  1  am  of  opinion  that  wool  of  that  quality  could  not  be  produced  in  any  part 
of  Europe."! 

Mr.  Thomas  Legg,  wool-stapler,  Bermondsey,  says : 

••  There  are  some  of  these  wools  of  very  beautiful  quality,  as  good  as  any  of  the  German 
woold."t 

Mr.  Thomas  Ebswoith,  wool-broker,  London,  says: 

"  The  peculiarity  of  the  climate  of  New  South  Wales  appears  to  have  a  very  great  effect 
on  wool,  so  as  to  reduce  it  from  a  harshness  to  a  very  fine  texture."]] 

This  was  the  substance  of  all  the  testimony  on  this  particular  point ; 
arid  when  it  is  understood  that  the  investigation  was  an  issue  between  rival 
interests,  where  all  the  facts  were  thoroughly  sifted,  the  fact  that  the  above 
assertions  were  undisputed  shows  that  they  were  considered  of  an  undis- 
putable  character. 

Allusion  has  already  been  made  to  the  loose  and  careless  system  of 
sheep-breeding,  etc.  in  Australia,  compared  with  that  in  Qermany.  Tak- 
.ng  this  into  consideration  ;  taking  also  into  consideration  that  the  flock 
furnishing  the  best  wool  in  Australia  (Capt.  McArthur's)  is  composed  of 
grade  sheep  (Bengal  and  English,  graded  up  with  Merino  and  Saxon  rams), 
the  trifling  effect  of  climate  is  made  more  strikingly  to  appear. 

The  statements  of  Mr.  Cockrill  in  relation  to  the  softness  of  the  wools 
grown  in  Tennessee  and  Mississippi,  sustain  and  'are  sustained  by  those 
above  given  ;  and  they  go  to  show  that  it  is  the  result  of  a  general  law 
and  :not  of  any  peculiar  local  influences  peculiar  to  Australia 

*  Btichcff  on  Wool,  &c.  roL  ii.  pp.  189-3.  t  Ibid.  183-4.  J  IWd.  184.  H  Ibid.  !§1 


30  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


LETTER  III. 

ADAPTATION  OF  THE  SOILS,  HERBAGE,  &c.  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  STATES  TO 
SHEEP  HUSBANDRY.    1.  OF  THE  LOW  OR  TIDE-WATER  REGION 


Natural  Features  of  the  Southern  States— Divided  into  three  Zones.  ..The  Natural  Features,  Soils,  &c.  <rf 
each...  The  Tide-water  Zone— Its  destitution  of  Artificial  Pastures  and  Meadows...  Causes— Small"  amount 
of  Domestic  Stock  kept — Unsuccessful  Experiments  in  raising  Clover  and  Grasses.  ..Reasons  why  those 
Experimer  v  weie  unsuccessful— Land  too  much  Exhausted  by  Severe  Tillage — System  of  Tillage  com' 
pared  with  *.aat  of  the  Grazing  Regions  of  New-York— Experiments  unsuccessful,  also,  because  improper 
varieties  of  Clover  and  Grass  were  tried.  ..Much  of  the  Land  adapted  to  Gruss— Shown  by  its  Natural  Pas- 
tures— Statements  of  Col.  Allston — Opinions  of  Mr.  Ruffin — of  a  Committee  of  the  S.  C.  Agricultural  Soci- 
ety...Land  compared  with  that  of  Flanders— also  with  some  parts  of  New-York... Climate  peihaps  unfa- 
rorable  to  certain  Northern  Grasses  and  to  Red  Clover — Opinion  of  Mr.  Ruffin — Statements  of  Milton  (S. 
C.)  Agricultural  Society. .  .Clover  not  indispensable. .  .Experiments  suggested. .  .Valuable  indigenous  and 
acclimated  Grasses— Crab  Grass — Millet — Bermuda  Grass— its  great  value— Statements  of  MrrAffleck... 
Peas — Their  great  value  in  the  Southern  States  as  a  Green  Crop  Manure — Sprengel's  Analysis  of  them — 
The  Value  of  their  Straw  as  a  Manure  compared  with  various  substances — Table  of  the  Value  of  Manure* 
by  Payen  and  Boussingault... Oats,  Rye  and  Barley — Corn  Blades — Sweet  Potatoes.  ..Conclusions  frof 
foregoing. 

Dear  Sir  :  Having  discussed,  in  my  previous  letters,  the  effects  of  warm 
climates  and  some  of  their  incidents,  on  the  health  of  sheep,  and  on  the 
quantity  and  quality  ^f  their  wool,  we  come  now  to  the  second  branch  of 
my  original  inquiry — Is  there  anything  in  the  natural  features,  soils,  herb- 
age, &c.  of  the  .Southern  States,  which  unfits  them  for  a  natural  and  easy 
adaptation  to  sheep  husbandry  ? 

The  vast  region  south  of  the  Ohio  and  Potomac,  and  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi— comprising  an  area  considerably  exceeding  that  of  France,  Spain 
and  Portugal* — is  distinguished,  by  its  natural  features,  into  three  distinct 
zones,  parallel  to  each  other  and  to  the  Atlantic  coast. 

The  lower  or  tide-water  zone,  which  skirts  the  Atlantic,  is  a  low,  flat, 
sandy,  and  oftentimes  marshy  plain,  from  50  to  100  miles  wide,  compara- 
tively recent  (tertiary)  in  its  formation,  and  covered  with  pine  forests  ovea 
the  greatest  portion  of  its  extent.  The  soils  on  the  dry  lands  are  generally 
light,  and  sometimes  too  sterile  to  admit  of  profitable  cultivation  ;  that  in 
the  swamps  and  river  bottoms,  where  the  sand  is  replaced  by  a  rich  allu- 
vion, is  exceedingly  fertile.  The  middle  or  hilly  zone  rises  from  the  level 
of  the  preceding,  first  into  gentle  hills,  and  finally  into  high  and  oftentimes 
broken  ground,  as  it  approaches  the  mountains.  The  width  of  this  does 
not  greatly  vary  from  that  of  the  preceding.  The  formation  is  almost  ex- 
clusively primary  ;t  and  the  soil  varies,  sometimes  being  poor,  but  more 
generally  ranging,  in  its  natural  state,  from  medium  to  highly  fertile.  The 
forests  consist  of  oak  and  other  deciduous  trees.  The  third  or  mountain 
region  is  formed  by  the  different  chains  and  groups  of  the  great  Apalach- 
ian  range,  of  mountains,  and  occupies  not  far  from  70,000  square  miles  of 
the  central  portion  of  the  territory  under  consideration.!  It  comprises  the 
middle  of  Virginia,  the  west  of  North  Carolina  and  South  Carolina,  the 
north  of  Georgia  and  Alabama,  and  the  east  of  Tennessee  and  Kentucky. 
Its  formation  on  the  eastern  declivities  of  the  Blue  Ridge  (the  most  east- 
ern chain)  is  primary,  and  thence  to  the  Alleganies  the  rocks  belong  to 

*  Spain  contains  170,000  square  miles,  Portugal  40,000,  France  200,000— in  all  410,000.  Allowing  10,000 
tquare  miles  of  Louisiana  to  be  east  of  the  Mississippi,  the  area  of  the  region  referred  to  is  456',00i  square 
miles. 

t  There  are  one  or  two  interrupted  belts  of  new  red  czndstont — vide  McClure. 

J  Estimated  not  far,  1  think,  from  correctly,  »»y  myself.    I  can  rind  no  authority  on  this  point. 


SHEEP   HUSBANDRY   IN    THE    SOUTH.  31 


the  Transition  order.*  Its  soil  varies  from  thin  and  light  to  that  of  exu- 
berant fertility.  West  of  the  mountains,  the  hilly  zone  rests  on  Transition 
rocks  and  coal  measures,  and  is  succeeded  west  and  south  of  Virginia  by 
the  vast  rolling  or  level  plains  which  extend  to  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi ; 
and  which,  instead  of  the  silicious  sands  of  the  eastern  coast,  exhibit  rich 
and  varying  soils  resting  on  limestone  and  other  Transition  and  Cretaceous 
rocks.  In  Virginia,  the  hilly  region,  which  is  one  vast  coal  measure,  extends 
to  the  bottom  lands  of  the  Ohio  ;  and  its  soils,  taken  as  a  whole,  range  from 
ordinary  to  meager.t 

We  will  now  proceed  to  examine  the  capabilities  and  adaptation  of  each 
aone,  separately,  for  the  purposes  of  sheep  husbandry.  It  has  already  been 
shown  that  sheep  are  he&ithy,  and  produce  as  heavy,  and  may  be  made  to 
produce  as  fine  fleeces  as  elsewhere,  in  the  tide-water  zone.  They  are 
easily  kept — finding,  in  a  climate  so  mild,  considerable  succulent  food  even 
in  the  winter ;  and,  south  of  North  Carolina,  large  numbers  would  subsist 
during  the  entire  winter  on  the  hardier  wild  herbage  which  continues  green 
in  the  forests  and  swamps.  If  this  region  was  stocked  with  sheep,  to  the 
extent  alone  to  which  they  could  find  subsistence,  summer  and  winter,  on 
wild  herbage — or,  in  other  words,  get  a  living  without  costing  their  own- 
ers anything — the  present  number  would  be  largely  increased,  and  their 
wool  and  mutton  would  add  materially  to  the  annual  income  of  the  own- 
ers of  the  soil.  But  a  better  system  would  undoubtedly  be  not  to  depend 
upon  wild  herbage  alone,  but  to  have  pastures  or  sheep-walks  seeded  with 
the  best  grasses  which  will  flourish  on  them,  and  provision  made  for  a  quan- 
tity of  dry  fodder,  or  some  substitute  for  it,  for  winter  use. 

Can  this  summer  and  winter  feed  be  produced,  in  the  region  under  ex- 
amination, to-  any  considerable  extent,  at  an  expense  which  would  render 
ita  conversion  into  wool  and  mutton  profitable  1  There  are  patches  of 
good  natural  pasture  in  many  parts  of  the  tide-water  zone,  apart  From  the 
ealt  or  fresh  water  marshes.  But  artificial  pastures  and  meadows  have 
rarely  been  attempted.  The  planters  in  this  portion  of  South  Carolina,  for 
example,  actually  import  hay  !  "  Many  of  the  cotton  and  rice  planters  . 
.  .  in  some  dases  buy  hay  from  New-England.  .  .  .  Northern  and 
(in  some  cases)  European  hay  is  even  carried  up  to  supply  Augusta  and 
Columbia,  along  rivers  which  flow  through  swamps  covered  with  natural 
grass,  so  rank  and  luxuriant  as  to  be  almost  impenetrable."^ 

This  neglect  of  grass  culture  springs  from  several  causes.  Little  farm- 
stock,  comparatively  speaking,  is  reared  or  kept  by  the  rice  and  cotton- 
planters,  from  the  fact!  that  most  of  the  labor  on  such  plantations  is  per- 
formed by  men ;  and  the  few  animals  kept  are  fed  on  wild  herbage,  or  the 
offal  of  crops  which  are  raised  for  other  purposes.  The  carnage  and 
draught  horses  and  mules  are  fed  in  the  winter  on  the  leaves  or  "  blades  " 
of  corn ;  and  the  neat  stock  get  their  living  in  the  swamps,  and  in  the 
corn  fields,  where  the  greatest  portion  of  the  stalks  are  usually  left  stand- 
ing. 

Nor  is  it  to  be  denied  that  various  unsuccessful  experiments  have  been 
made  in  the  cultivation  of  the  grasses  and  clover,  which  have  discouraged 
farther  efforts,  and  led  many  to  infer  that  the  soil  or  climate,  or  both,  are 
decidedly  uncongenial  to  them.  That  the  soil  or  climate  is  as  favorable  to 
the  production  of  rich,  thick  swarded  pastures  or  meadows,  as  in  many 

*  So  termed  by  Werner.  Though  little  used  now  by  geologists,  I  resort  to  it  as  the  shortest  descriptive 
epithet  which  will  include  all  these'rocks,  unless  it  be  the  Hemilisyan  of  Bronsmiart,  the  Submedial  of  Co- 
nybeare,  or  the  Gray  wacke  of  De  la  Beche— neither  of  which  is  so  familiar,  nor,  it  appears  to  me.  any  bet 
ter.  The  Transition  rocka  are  equivalent  to  both  tho  Cambrian  of  Prof.  Sedgwick,  and  the  Silurian  of  Mr 
Murchison — whose  nomenclature  i»  adopted  by  Lyell.  Phillips,  Mantell,  &R. 

t  Dr.  Morse,  Mitchell,  &c.  {  Jluffin'a  Agricultural  Survey  of  South  Carolina,  18-13,  p.  73 


32  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

parts  of  the  Northern  States,  I  do  not  contend.  Some  of  these  soils  are 
doubtless,  naturally  too  ban-en  to  be  made  to  produce  good  yields  of  grass, 
without  an  expenditure  which  would  more  than  counterbalance  the  profits 
accruing  from  them.  Others  have  been  sunk  nearly  to  the  same  level  by 
wasting  and  improvident  tillage  ;  and  it  is  on  lands  of  the  latter  class, 
mainly,  that  the  experiments  in  introducing  the  grasses  and  clover  have 
been  made.  As  long  as  they  would  produce  cotton  or  corn,  these  crops 
were  annually  taken  from  them,  with  perhaps  an  occasional  year  of  rest 
(i.  e.  lying  without  any  crop  being  sown  on  or  taken  from  them)  ;  and, 
when  reduced  to  such  a  degree  of  barrenness  that  the  crop  fell  short  of  re- 
paying the  cost  of  producing  it,  clover  or  grass  was  resorted  to  in  the  vain 
nope  of  suddenly  repairing,  through  their  instrumentality,  the  ravage  and 
desolation  of  years.  The  following  is  from  the  report  of  a  Committee  of 
the  Fishing  Creek  Agricultural  Society,  Chester  District,  South  Carolina, 
made  to  the  President  of  the  State  Society  in  1843  ;  and,  though  this  dis- 
trict is  not  in  the  tide-water  zone,  the  system  of  cropping  described  is  more 
or  less  the  prevailing  one*  throughout  much  of  the  cotton  growing  region  : 

"  We  generally  plant  cotton  on  fresh  land  four  or  five  years  in  succession — then  corn — 
then  wheat  or  oats — again  corn  and  cotton  ;  and,  after  it  will  produce  little  else,  we  sow  it 
hi  rye,  and  let  it  rest  two  or  three  years.  There  are  no  fixed  principles  observed  in  the  ro- 
tation of  crops.  .  .  .  We  have  no  data  whereby  to  fix  the  expense  of  cultivation  accu- 
rately. We  know  this,  however,  that  at  the  price  of  produce  for  the  last  two  or  three  years, 
we  are  sinking  money,  "t 

I  ask  what  would  be  expected,  in  the  way  of  grass  or  clover,  from  some 
of  the  best  grazing  lands  of  New- York,  after  being  cropped  with  grain 
crops  from  ten  to  twelve  years  consecutively,  with  little  or  no  manure  ] — 
However  carefully  seeded  with  the  best  grasses,  or  with  clover,  they  wctild 
riot  form  meadows  worth  mowing,  nor  pastures  where  an  acre  would  sum- 
mer a  sheep — though,  as  now  managed,  an  acre  is  poorly  grassed  that  will 
riot  summer  five  or  six  sheep.  Take  the  map  of  New-York,  Sir,  and  draw 
a  right  line  from  Buffalo  to  a  point  a  little  south  of  Albany — say  Coxsackie 
— and  all  the  region,  speaking  in  general  terms,  south  of  this  line  arid  west 
of  the  Catskill  Mountains,  is  mainly  devoted  to  grazing.  It  is  the  best 
grazing  region  of  the  State,  and  much  of  it  is  equal  to  any  in  the  Northern 
States.  The  best  farmers  in  no  part  of  it  take  off  to  exceed  three  grain  or 
root  crops  before  seeding  clown  to  grass  ;  and,  unless  the  soil  is  unusually 
rich,  it  is  customary  to  give  barn-yard  manure  to  one  of  these  crops.  This 
is  almost  invariably  the  case  where  the  land  was  in  meadow  when  broken 
up.  Where  no  manure  is  given  on  meadow  lands,  or  even  on  lightish  pas- 
ture lands,  two  grain  crops  are  considered  sufficient  by  the  most  provident 
farmers — it  being  an  axiom  among  such,  that  all  ordinary  or  thinnish  soils 
should  be  nearly  or  quite  as  rich  when  seeded  down  as  when  broken  up. 
In  other  words,  they  draw  from  the  soil  only  what  is  equivalent  to  the 
strength  or  fertilizing  properties  of  the  sod,  and  of  the  manure  given. — 
When  seeded  down  to  grass,  these  lands  are  usually  depastured  by  cattle 
or  sheep  several  years  before  they  are  again  broken  up.  If  converted  into 
meadow,  they  are  top-dressed  from  time  to  time  with  gypsum,  and  some- 
times  with  stable  manures.J  The  poorest  soils,  rocky  hill-sides,  declivities 
much  subject  to  washing  and  gullying,  are  rarely  broken  up  after  being 
once  properly  seeded  down.  I  repeat  it,  Sir — take  all  the  grazing  lands 
of  New-York,  and  crop  them  as  severely  as  it  is  reported  above  to  be  done 
in  Chester  District,  South  Carolina,  and  they  would  become  so  sterile  that, 

*  Id  eet,  so  far  as  constant  cropping  without  returning  anything  to  the  soil  is  concerned. 
t  See  Ruffin's  Agricultural  Survey  of  South  Carolina,  1843— Appendix,  p.  6. 

J  [t  is  not  considered  good  economy,  however,  to  top-dress  any  meadows  with  stable  manure*  which 
trc  dry  and  arable,  and  con  thus  be  subjected  to  the  regular  rotations  of  the  farm. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  33 

unless  resuscitated  by  copious  applications  of  manure,  they  would  not 
yield  grass  enough  to  pay  the  expanse  of  keeping  them  under  fence,  until 
they  had  lain  waste  for  a  quarter  of  a  century. 

Another  cause  of  the  failures  which  have  attended  some  of  the  efforts  to 
introduce  the  culture  of  clover  and  the  grasses  on  the  tide-water  zone,  in 
the  Southern  States,  may,  and  probably  has,  existed  in  the  improper  selec- 
tion of  the  varieties  sown.  As  the  first  crop  on  a  very  meager  soil — red 
clover,  for  example — is  not  appropriate  in  any  region.  In  Flanders,  the 
natural  soils  of  much  of  which  so  closely  resemble  those  of  the  zone  under 
examination,  it  is  not  sown  until  the  land  is  enriched  and  got  in  condition 
by  several  preparatory  crops.  The  different  grasses  seem  to  be  affected 
by  various  conditions  in  the  soil  or  atmosphere,  or  both,  which  it  is  fre- 
quently difficult  or  impossible  to  detect.  Timothy  grass  ( Pklcum  pratcnse) 
is  decidedly  the  favorite  meadow  grass  of  the  grazing  regions  of  New- 
York.  White  clover  (Trifolium  rcpens)  invariably  comes  up  spontane- 
ously on  those  lands.  Red  clover  (  T.  pratense)  is  sometimes  sown  with 
Timothy  in  meadows,  and  generally  in  pastures.  Red  Top*  (Agrostis 
(stricta)  vulgaris)  is  preferred  on  wet  lands,  where  it  comes  up  spontane- 
ously. It  is  considered  a  prime  pasture  and  meadow  grass  in  such  situa.- 
tions.  June  or  Spear  grass  (Poa  pratensis),  the  Blue  grass  of  the  South 
ern  and  Western  States,  so  piized  there  and  also  in  England,!  is  consid- 
ered an  unprofitable  intruder  in  our  meadows,  where  it  comes  up  sponta- 
neously, and  ultimately  drives  out  the  Timothy.  The  meadows  are  then 
said  to  be  "  run  out,"  and  are  broken  up.  I  have  never  known  the  seed 
of  this  grass  sown  in  a  single  instance  !  The  favorite  Rye  grasses  of  Eng- 
land (Lolium  perenne  var.  bienne),  Lucern  (Medicago  sativa),  Sainfoin 
( 'Hedysarum  onibrickisj,  Orchard  grass  (Dactylis  glomcrata),  and  various 
others  equally  celebrated  in  England  and  on  the  Continent,  have  been 
tried  in  New- York,  and  the  experiments  are  generally  regarded  as  decided 
failures.  None  of  them,  at  all  events,  have  obtained  a  footing  among  the 
grasses  sown  by  our  best  farmers.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Red  Top  of 
New-York  is  but  little  regarded  in  England, \  and  Timothy  was  not  in 
much  better  repute  until  the  Woburn  experiments  demonstrated  its  great 
value  for  hay.  Even  now  it  is  considered  inferior,  in  general  value,  to 
many  other  grasses.) |  All  this  goes  to  show  that  even  the  hardiest  grasses 
have  their  favorite  situations  ;  and  that  we  are  not  authorized  to  pronounce 
against  the  practicability  of  forming  pastures  and  meadows  in  a  given  re- 
gion, because  we  have  failed  in  a  trial  with  two  or  three  grasses,  out  of  a 
list  of  as  many  hundreds. 

It  has  already  been  remarked  that  there  are  patches  of  good  natural 
pasture  on  the  dry  as  well  as  the  wet  portions  of  the  tide-water  zone 
These  are  frequent  and  extensive,  and  could  be  rendered  infinitely  more 
so  by  simply  clearing  the  land.  In  your  Memoir  on  the  Cultivation  of 
Rice,  furnished  to  Mr.  Ruffin,  while  making  the  Agricultural  Survey  of 
South  Carolina,  in  1843,  you  say  : 

"  At  first,  rice  was  cultivated  on  the  high  land,  and  on  little  spots  of  low  ground,  as  they 
were  met  with  here  and  there.  These  low  grounds  being  found  to  agree  ^better  with  the 
plant,  the  inland  swamps  were  cleared  for  the  purpose  of  extending  the  culture,  In  the 
process  of  time,  as  the  fields  became  too  grassy  and  stubborn,  they  were  abandoned  for  new 
clearings ;  and  so  on,  until  at  length  was  discovered  the  superior  adaptation  of  the  tide-lands, 
wad  the  great  facilities  for  irrigation  afforded  by  their  location.  For  these,  the  inland  planta- 
tions were  gradually  and  slowly  abandoned,  until  now,  that  the  great  body  of  land,  which 

*  Sometimes  known  as  "  Upright  Bent  grass,"  and  in  the  Southern  States  as  Herds-grass. 
t  Pronounced  by  Sole  the  best  of  all  the  grasses. 

t  Agrostis  vulgaris  is  pronounced  "  a  worthless  or  rather  a  mischievous  plant,"  by  Sir  George  Sinclair  I 

(I  "Our  opinion,"  says  Louden,  "  is  that  neither  Timothy  nor  (some  other  grasses  named)  is  ever  likely 

to  be  cultivated  in  Britain."  * 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


little  more  than  a  century  ago  furnished  for  exportation  over  50,000  barrels  of  rice,  now  lie* 
utterly  waste,  constituting,  where  trees  have  not  overgrown  it,  the  finest  natural  pasture 
which  could  be  desired."*  » 

Mr.  Ruffin  in  his  Report  of  the  Survey,  of  the  same  year,  asserts : 

"  Few  countries  possess  greater  natural  facilities,  or  which  are  more  improvable  by  in. 
d  istry,  for  producing  in  abundance,  grass,  hay  and  live-stock,  and  their  products  of  meat, 
milk  and  butter,  all  .of  which  are  now  so  deplorably  deficient.''! 

The  Committee  appointed  by  the  State  Agricultural  Society  of  South 
Carolina  to  take  into  consideration  the  scheme  of  reducing  the  quantity 
of  cotton  grown,J  in  their  Report  observe  : 

"  Millions  of  acres  in  South  Carolina,  including  the  lower  country,  are  admirably  adapted 
to  the  raising  of  rich  grasses.  This  might  be  added  as  another  branch  of  industry,  from 
which  reasonable  profits  could  be  realized,  and  might  very  well  bo  added  to  the  cotton 
planter's  income." 

Corresponding  statements,  on  equally  indisputable  authority,  might  be 
indefinitely  multiplied,  not  only  in  relation  to  that  portion  of  the  tide- 
water zono  lying  within  the  limits  of  South  Carolina,  but  in  all  the  South- 
ern States.  South  Carolina  occupying  a  central  geographical  and  lati- 
tudinal position,  in  reference  to  this  zone,  and  its  soils  on  it,  about 
averaging,  so  far  as  I  can  learn,  with  that  of  the  other  States,  it  is  not 
necessary  to  pursue  the  inquiry. 

Where  fine  natural  pastures  spring  up  spontaneously  on  deserted  lands, 
more  or  less  impoverished — probably  in  most  instances  considerably  so — 
how  little  difficulty  would  there  be  in  forming,  almost  immediately,  the 
best  artificial  pastures  and  meadows  on  millions  of  acres  of  just  such  land, 
(only  that  it  is  in  its  virgin  state,  and  consequently  far  better,)  now  in  un- 
productive forest !  And  how  small  would  be  the  amount  of  skill  requisite 
to  convert  millions  of  acres  more  of  cotton  lands — which  do  not  now  yield 
emunerating  crops — into  pastures  and  meadows,  which,  as  I  shall  show, 
would  yield  their  owners  a  handsome  remuneration ! 

And  the  culture  of  the  grasses  need  not  stop  with  these  comparatively 
good  and  medium  lands.  They  can  be  made  to  stretch  their  carpet  of 
green  over  the  poorest  of  your  sands — over  those  now  covered  with  stunt- 
ed pines,  or  which,  scorched  and  naked,  reverberate  back  fiercely  the 
burning  heat  of  a  southern  sky. 

There  are  few  regions  in  the  tide-water  zone  possessing  poorer  soils 
than  some  cultivated  portions  of  New- York.  In  the  vicinity  of  Albany, 
(between  that  city  and  Schenectady,  for  example,)  the  same  loose,  silicious 
sands,  the  same,  though  perhaps  rather  more  stunted,  growth  of  pines, 
would  almost  compel  you  to  fancy  yourself  somewhere  between  Richmond 
and  "Wilmington,  on  the  route  of  the  great  Southern  Railroad  !  Denuded 
of  their  meager  covering  of  dwarf  pines,  and  the  cohesion  produced  by 
their  interlacing  roots,  these  sands  would  be  lifted  and  driven  about  by 
the  winds.  Yet  on  such  a  soil  as  this,  you  find  the  farm  of  the  late  cele 
brated  Jesse  Buel !  And  fertile  grass  fields,  dotted  here  and  there  with 
splendid  mansions,  are  every  year  stretching  out  farther  and  farther  amonfl 
the  arid  sands.  How  are  these  rapid  transformations  in  the  fertility  of 
the  soil  accomplished  I  The  stables,  and  mews,  and  cesspools  of  Albany 
can  give  the  answer  ! 

The  following  description  of  the  natural  soils  of  Flanders,  now  prover* 
bial  for  its  fine  crops  and  rich  pastures  and  meadows,  is  from  the  pen  of 
that  able  English  agricultural  writer,  Rev.  W.  L.  Rham  : 

*  Asrriculturft.1  Survey  of  South  Carolina,  1843.     Appendix,  p.  14.  t  Ih.  p  73. 

J  The  Committee  consisted  of  Whitemareh  B.  Seabrook,  Esq.,  John  B.  O'Neal!,  Esq.,  and  W.  J. 
Ewj.— «tnd  the  Report  was  Kale,  I  believe,  in  January,  in  1846. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  35 

"  The  greater  part  of  the  land  in  Flanders  is  naturally  poor  ;  and  in  extensive  districts, 
which  now  have  the  appearance  of  the  greatest  richness  at  harvest  time,  the  original  soil  waa 
once  little  better  than  the  blowing  sands  which  are  met  with  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  sea 
Neither  is  it  a  genial  climate  which  brings  forward  the  fruits  of  the  earth  in  abundance ;  for 
the  climate  is  inferior  to  that  of  France  or  the  southern  parts  of  Germany.  The  soil  may  be 
divided  into  two  classes.  The  first  consists  of  the  alluvial  clay  loams  near  the  coast;  tne 
second,  of  various  sands  and  light  loams  which  are  found  in  tile  interior.  The  most  fertile  is 
that  of  the  low  lands  which  have  been  reclaimed  from  the  sea  by  embankments ;  it  is  chiefly 
composed  of  a  muddy  deposit  mixed  with  fragments  of  marine  shells  and  fine  sea  sand  .  . 
In  the  interior  of  East  and  West  Flanders  the  soil  varies  considerably ;  but  the  prmcipal 
part  is  of  a  sandy  nature.  The  sand,  and  a  heavier  loam  which  scarcely  deserves  the  name 
of  clay,  are  found  much  intermixed,  which  is  owing  to  an  alternation  of  layers  of  sand  arid 
loam,  which  are  found  by  digging  to  a  considerable  depth.  These  layers  are  not  of  great 
thickness,  and  the  accidental  circumstance  of  the  washing  away  of  the  sand  in  some  place-* 
and  the  depositions  from  rivers  in  others  easily  account  for  this  variety.  Some  of  the  eleva- 
tions, which  are  nowhere  considerable,  consist  of  a  very  poor  sand,  and  suggest  the  idea  of 
their  having  once  been  the  sands  of  the  sea  blown  into  hills,  as  is  observable  on  the  coast. 
These  hills,"  if  they  may  be  so  called,  are  naturally  so  barren  that  they  were,  not  very  long  since, 
covered  with  heath,  or  at  best  planted  with  fir  trees ;  but  they  have  gradually  been  culti- 
vated and  improved,  and  only  a  few  remain  in  their  original  state  of  heath  and  wood.  The 
poorer  sands  have  been  brought  into  cultivation  chiefly  by  the  persevering  industry  of  small 
proprietors  and  occupiers." 

Have  we  not  here  a  good  general  description  of  much  of  our  southern 
Atlantic  coast — the  tide  swamp  and  sandy  plain — and  even  a  graphically 
minute  account  of  the  "  Sand  Hill  "  region  of  South  Carolina  1 

Instances  of  the  reclamation  of  such  lands  might  be  indefinitely  mul- 
tiplied. 

I  do  not  offer  the  above  facts  to  prove  that  it  is  either  profitable  or  ex- 
pedient to  reclaim  all  the  sterile  lands  of  the  southern  sea-board  by  the  same 
means  that  have  been  resorted  to  about  Albany,  or  in  Flanders.  Except 
in  the  vicinity  of  cities,  where  manures  are  plentiful  and  cheap,  and  un- 
common market  facilities  are  offered,  it  would  not  be  profitable,  unless  it 
can  be  accomplished  by  less  expensive  means. 

But  it  proves  one  and  an  important  position :  that  it  is  the  sterility  of 
such  soils — or  perhaps  their  loose  and  "blowing"  character  in  some  places,, 
their  sun-baked  hardness  in  others — which  prevents  them  from  spontane- 
ously producing  esculent  herbage  ;  and  nothing  in  them,  as  has  been 
frequently  fancied,  positively  deleterious  to  vegetation.  And  it  follows,, 
hence,  that  whenever  it  is  profitable  to  convert  them  into  grass  lands,  it  is 
practicable  so  to  do  by  the  proper  application  of  manures.  But  do  I  hear 
some  of  your  South  Carolina  neighbors,  of  the  anti-improvement  school,, 
(if  you  have  any  such,)  say,  "  If  our  soils  are,  or  can  be  made,  generally, 
suitable  for  the  production  of  the  grasses,  our  climate  cannot  1 "  This 
position  is  obviously  incorrect,  as  warmer  climates,  as,  for  example,  Aus- 
tralia, the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  various  others,  produce,  where  the 
soils  are  favorable,  a  luxuriant  growth  of  grasses ;  and  South  Carolina 
herself,  as  has  been  already  shown,  produces  them  bountifully  in  situations 
where  neither  the  latitude  nor  the  elevation  abates  one  jot  of  the  heat  of 
your  fervid  climate. 

It  is  not  impossible  that  the  climate  of  the  States  farthest  south — south, 
say,  of  North  Carolina — may  be  unfavorable  to  certain  grasses  and  cloveis  ;• 
and  perhaps  so  to  the  favorite  ones  of  the  Northern  States.  In  relation 
to  led  clover,  however,  the  acclimation  of  which  is  regarded  by  many  as 
so  important  to  those  States,  it  seems  Mr.  Ruffin  thought  otherwise.  He 
itya: 

"  Perennial,  or  other  permanent  grasses,  of  which,  doubtless,  there  may  be  found  some' 
peculiarly  suited  to  the  warm  climate,  (South  Carolina,)  would  still  more  serve  to  give  the 
great  benefits  of  changed  condition  to  the  fields,  independent  of  the  much  needed  benefits 
of  grass  husbandry  for  feeding  of  live-stock  and  giving  rest  and  manure  to  the  land.  The 
"Trasses  whose  value  has  bees,  fully  established  by  long  experience  in  more  northern  coun 


36  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


tries,  should  be  tried — not  because  they  are  from  the  North,  (which  in  itself  is  a  strong  ob- 
jection,) but  merely  because  their  good  qualities  are  known,  and  possibly  some  such  gra»nee 
may  as  well  suit  a  more  southern  dime.  And  such.  I  trust,  is  red  clover,  the  best^of  all 
green  and  manuring  crops.  For  although  this  was  long  held  to  belong  to  the  North  only,  I 
nave  fully  experienced  that  its  locality  and  the  perfection  of  its  growth  are  fixed  much  more 
by  peculiarity  of  soil  than  by  latitude.  Not  more  than  twenty  years  ago  it  was  as  general 
a  belief  in  Lower  Virginia,  as  now  in  South  Carolina,  that  there  the  soil  was  too  scanty  and 
the  sun  too  hot  to  raise  red  clover.  But  since  marling  and  liming  have  made  many  of  theso 
•oils  calcareous,  it  is  found  that  neither  the  sandy  soil  nor  hot  and  dry  climate  forbid  the 
raising  excellent  and  profitable  crops  of  clover.  And  so  hereafter  it  will  be  found  iu  South 
Carolina."* 

In  a  Report  by  a  Committee  of  the  Milton  Agricultural  Society,  (em- 
bracing adjacent  parts  of  Laurens  and  Newberry  Districts,  S.  C.)  made  to 
the  State  Society  in  1843,  they  state  : 

"  Our  native  grasses,  except  the  crab  grass,  are  of  the  poorest  kind,  principally  sedge.  Of 
the  artificial  grasses,  some  trials  have  been  made  with  red  clorer  and  herds-grass. t  On  rich 
lots  the  first  appears  to  succeed  veiy  wrell.  For  alternating  with  tillage  crops  we  do  not 
know  of  its  having  been  tried ;  but  our  impression  is,  that  without  manuring  more  highly 
than  is  customary  here,  it  will  not  answer.  We  are  not  aware  that  it  has  ever  been  sowed 
with  gypsum.  The  herds-grass,  as  far  as  it  has  been  tried,  appears  to  succeed  very  well  on 
the  bottoms  that  border  our  branches  and  creeks. "J 

Lawrence  and  Newberry  are  not  in  the  tide-water  region,  but  so  far  as 
the  effect  of  climate  alone  is  concerned,  their  testimony  has  an  equal 
bearing. 

I  have  little  doubt  that  red  clover  may  be  cultivated  on  good,  rich  soils 
even  in  the  States  south  of  North  Carolina,  and  may  possibly  become,  un- 
der some  circumstances,  a  profitable  crop  in  their  rotations  ;  but,  as  has 
been  already  remarked,  it  will  not  do  as  tijirst  crop  on  very  meager  soils, 
in  any  climate — and  still  less  so,  I  apprehend,  on  such  soils  south  of  lati- 
4ude  34°.  It  is  not,  therefore,  the  crop  which  you  need,  to  cheaply  ame- 
liorate your  poor  and  exhausted  soils,  to  fit  them  either  for  grazing  or  for 
tillage.  Grant  that  such  soils  can  be  fitted  to  produce  it,  as  Mr.  Iluifiri 
Suggests,  by  the  application  of  lime  or  marl,||  these  manures  will  be  found 
.expensive,  can  be  but  slowly  obtained  in  quantities  sufficient  to  apply  to 
large  tracts,  and,  besides,  when  the  soil  is  sufficiently  ameliorated  to  carry 
clover,  it  will  carry  most  if  not  all  of  your  ordinary  tillage  crops.  Though 
;doYer  would  aid  materially  in  the  rotation,  in  sustaining  or  even  improv- 
ing the  fertility  superinduced  by  lime  or  any  other  fertilizer,  it  is  not,  and 
cannot  be  made  the  original  fertilizer  on  the  sterile  sands  of  warm  climates. 
When  we  talk,  therefore,  of  the  initiatory  steps  by  which  such  soils  shall 
be  brought  from  a  state  of  barrenness  to  a  state  of  production,  clover  does 
not  come  within  the  category  of  appropriate  agents. 

Though  red  clover  ranks  in  the  first  class,  if  not  the  first  in  that  class, 
on  appropriate  soils,  as  a  grazing  and  manuring  crop,  I  have  never  regard- 
ed it  as  indispensable — as  what  the  lawyers  would  style  a  sine  qua  non— 
even  in  sustaining  fertility  anywhere  except  on  rich  calcareous  wheat 
lands,  where  a  severe  and  exhausting  rotation  is  resorted  to.  Where 
wheat  is  taken  from  the  soil  at  least  every  alternate  year,  for  ten,  fifteen, 
01  twenty  years,  without  any  manure,  excepting  the  intervening  crop,  and 
the  droppings  of  animals  depastured  on  it,  clover  will  better  sustain  the 
land  in  the  ultimately  fatal  struggle,  than  perhaps  any  other  green  na- 

*  Ruffin's  Ajrricultural  Survey  of  S.  C..  1843,  p.  8t. 

t  This  should  be  the  Agrostis  stricta  or  vulgaris— the  Red  Top  of  the  North.  Some  writers  deftj'm.-ite  B 
ts  the  one  species,  some  aa  the  other. 

t  Ruffin's  Agricultural  Survey  of  S.  C.,  1843  ;  Appendix,  p.  9. 

||  Unless,  however,  the  soil  contains  more  organic  matter  than  I  suppose  to  be  the  cane  with  many  <* 
your  »a,ndy  soils,  theory  and  practice  both  show  that  lime  will  not  prove  the  proper  manure.  Though*  ex- 
eecdingly  valuable  in  its  p.ace,  experience  shows  that  it  is  no-  agricultural  panacea.  I  shall  allude  to  this  sub- 
jcct  move  fullv  »u  a  subseruent  letter 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  37 

During  crop.  But  on  the  silicious  grazing  soils  of  Southern*  New-Y  ork,  it 
Is  rarely  used  exclusively  as  a  manuring  crop,  and  is  but  little  used,  ex- 
cepting slightly  admixed  with  timothy,  for  pasture  or  meadows.*  I  think 
it  should  be  used  more  ;  but  the  fact  stated  shows  that  clover  is  not  re 
guarded  by  practical  men,  who  are  perfectly  familiar  with  it,  as  that  indis- 
pensable crap,  in  all  situations,  which  some  of  its  more  extravagant  pane- 
gyrists would  lead  us  to  suppose.  The  conclusions  which  I  wrould  ha-ve 
you  deduce  from  the  above  facts  and  statements  are,  simply,  that  if  clover 
is  found  to  flourish  with  you  without  extra  trouble  and  expense,  you  will 
do  well  to  make  use  of  it  in  your  rotation  ;  if  not,  it  is  chimerical,  in  my 
judgment,  to  engage  in  an  expensive  struggle  with  natural  disadvantages 
to  force  its  cultivation. 

The  herds-grass  (red  top)  spoken  of  by  the  Milton  Society,  is  a  good 
grass  on  moist  (but  not  boggy)  soils,  and  having  been  found  to  succeed 
with  you,  is  worthy  of  trial  in  such  situations,  but  on  dry  soils,  especially 
on  arid  sands,  it  would  entirely  fail.  Nor  have  I  much  confidence  in 
either  timothy  or  spear  (blue)  grass,  in  such  situations,  in  your  latitude — 
none  at  all  in  the  former. 

It  would  be  well,  probably,  to  try  limited  experiments  with  all  grasses, 
domestic  and  foreign,  which  have  succeeded  well  on  soils  similar  to  your 
own  ;  as  among  these,  some  may  be  found  which  disregard  climate,  or  are 
even  better  fitted  to  your  climate  than  their  indigenous  one,  as  was  the 
case  with  timothy  at  the  North.  The  same  remark  is  also  true  in  rela- 
tion to  certain  other  esculents  which  are  used  as  substitutes  for  the  grasses, 
and  for  green  manuring  crops. 

Notwithstanding  the  evident  propriety  of  such  experiments,  I  am 
strongly  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  it  is  to  your  own  native  grasses  and 
esculents,  or  those  of  some  kindred  climate,  you  must  look  mainly  for  the 
basis  of  your  grazing  husbandry — arid  through  this,  the  amelioration  of 
your  poor  and  exhausted  soils. 

I  regret  that  1  can  find  no  list  of  those  native  grasses  which  sward  over 
the  deserted  lands  of  the  tide-water  zone,  and  flourish  with  a  tropical  lux- 
uriance in  its  swamps.  You  allude  to  them  as  *  native  "  grasses,  so  does 
Mr.  Rufh'n.  Mr.  Seabrook,  in  his  Report  .on  Cotton  Culture, J  speaks  of 
"  crop  grass,"  by  which  I  suppose  he  means  Crab  grass,  (Panicum  san- 
guinale,)  coming  up  spontaneously  after  spring-sown  peas ;  but  farthei 
than  this,  neither  of  you  specify  varieties.||  Among  these  indigenous  ones, 
particularly  those  which  spontaneously  make  their  appearance  on  dry 
lands,  it  would  be  exceedingly  singular  if  there  are  not  several  very  valua 
ble  grasses  for  your  soils  and  climate — grasses  the  seeds  of  which  should 
form  a  part,  if  not  suitable  for  the  whole  sowing,  on  the  same  kinds  of 
§oils  on  which  they  are  found  flourishing. 

Crab  grass  grows  in  all  parts  of  the  southern  States,  and  is  a  fair,  though 
not  a  very  superior  pasture  and  meadow  grass. 

Golden  millet  (Panicum  milliacenm)  is  a  great  producer  and  withstands 

1  know  of  but  very  few  farmers  excepting  myself,  in  this,  (Cortland,)  one  of  the  best  of  the  grazing 
counties,  who  sow  unmixed  clover  seed.  I  confess  myself  decidedly  partial  to  the  crop.  You  may  ride 
ten  miles  or  more  in  many  directions  from  my  house,  where  half  and  frequently  more  than  three-fourth* 
of  the  fields  are  in  pasture  or  meadow,  without  observing  rive  acres  of  unmixed  clover. 

J  For  this  elaborate  and  exceedingly  able  Report  or  Memoir,  see  Farmers'  Library,  1845,  October,  No- 
vember and  December  Nos. 

I!  Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  received  from  a  South  Carolina  correspondent  the  following  list  of 
jp-asses  and  other  esculents  which  flourish  in  the  lower  part  of  that  State.  Crab  grass  (Digitaria  sangui- 
nails),  earlier — the  "  Crowfoot"  (Eltusinc  Indica),  a  little  later,  are,  he  says,  the  best  grasses  for  hay,  and 
drive  in  cultivated  grounds  from  the  month  of  June  till  frost.  The  "Wild  Okra"  (Viola  palmata),  th« 
''Partridge  Berry"  (Mitckella  repens),  the  Wild  Pea  Vine,  and  several  other  esculents,  obscure  and  ua- 
k»4»wi:  by  name,  flourish  in  most  natural  pastures  from  early  spring  till  November. 


38  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


a  warm  climate,  but  it  requires  a  good  soil.  It  has  been  cultivated  with 
great  success  by  Mr.  Affleck  in  (Adams  county)  Mississippi. 

Bermuda  grass*  (  Cijnochn  dactijlon)  I  have  been  led  to  consider,  from 
the  representations  of  Mr.  Affleck,  as  the  best  grass,  both  for  pasture  and 
xneadow,  on  the -sterile  sands  of  the  tide-water  zone.  If  half  this  enlhu- 
oiistic  admirer  believes  of  it  is  true,  it  is  of  inestimable  value  to  the  South, 
and  for  permanent  pastures  and  meadows,  is  by  far  the  best  grass  in  the 
United  States.  Mr.  A.  says  : 

"  We  are  fully  aware  of  all  the  objections  made  to  the  spreading  of  this  grass,  and  have 
a  practical  knowledge  of  all  the  trouble  it  occasions ;  and  having  also  had  several  years'  ex- 
perience of  its  great,  its  incalculable  value,  we  have  no  hesitation  in  stating  that  the  latter  is 
manifold  greater  than  the  former.  The  time  is  not  iar  distant  when  all  the  rough  feed  cDn- 
aumed  on  plantations  will  be  made  from  this  grass ;  and  when  the  planter  will  consider  his 

hay  crop  as  of  much  more  importance  than  Ins  sugar  or  cotton The  excellence  of  thia 

plant  for  pasturage  is  evinced  by  two  circumstances.  It  is  preferred  by  stock  of  every  de- 
scription to  all  other  grass,  and  it  grows  luxuriantly  in  every  kind  of  soil.  It  possesses  an 
additional  advantage,  that  of  binding  the  loosest  and  most  barren  sandy  tracts.  But  when  it 
•has  once  taken  possession  of  close,  rich  soil,  its  -extirpation  is  so  difficult  as  almost  to  defy  all 
the  skill,  industry  and  perseverance  of  farmers.  It  is  used  to  bind  the  levees  on  the  banks 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  of  railroads.  We  saw  it  at  Macon,  Geo.,  Charleston,  S.  C.,  and  so 
on,  as  far  north  as  City  Point,  Virginia,  where  it  partially  covers  the  wharf.  One  hundred 
pounds  of  grass  afford  upward  of  fifty  of  dry  hay  ;  and  ice  do  cut,  as  a  regular  crop,  five 
tons  of  hay  per  acre  each  season.  Were  we  to  state  how  much  more  has  been  cut,  we  might 
strain  the  belief  of  our  readers.  No  other  grass  will  yield  such  an  amount  of  valuable  hay ; 
surpass  it  in  nutritive  qualities;  support  on  an  acre  of  pasture  such  a  quantity  of  stock  ;  will 
improve  the  soil  more  quickly ;  or  so  effectually  stop  and  fill  up  a  wash  or  gully.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  its  extirpation,  when  once  well  established,  is  almost  impossible  ;  though  to 
check  and  weaken  it,  so  far  as  to  grow  a  grain  or  cotton  crop,  is  easy  enough.  To  do  this, 
pursue  the  course  of  the  best  farmers  of  Kentucky  in  their  management  of  a  blue-grass  sod— 
with  a  good  breaking  plow,  having  a  wheel  and  coulter,  and  a  stout  team,  turn  over  evenly 
and  nicely  a  sod  four  inches  thick  and  as  wide  as  the  plow  and  team  are  capable  of,  follow 
in  the  same  furrow  with  another  plow  which  casts  the  dirt  well,  and  throw  out  as  much  of 
the  fresh  earth  on  top  of  the  sod  as  possible  or  the  depth  of  the  soil  will  admit  of.  The  crop 
that  follows  can  easily  be  tended  without  disturbing  the  sod,  and  its  gradual  decay  will 
greatly  increase  whatever  crop  may  be  planted  on  it — and  that  should  be  a  shading  one, 
corn  and  peas  or  pumpkins, -or  winter  oats  followed  by  peas.  Good  farmers  will  understand 
that  heavy  crops  of  hay  cannot  be  removed,  for  many  successive  years,  from  any  land,  with- 
out some  return  in  the  shape  of  manure.  To  the  careful,  judicious  farmer,  who  wishes  to 
improve  his  land  and  his  stock,  and  who  does  not  expect  to  grow  any  crop  without  trouble, 
and  who  uses  good  plows,  and  keeps  a  stout  team  and  that  in  prime  order,  we  earnestly 
recommend  to  try  an  acre  or  two  of  this  grass,  in  a  situation  where  it  cannot  readily  spread. 
To  the  careless  farmer  we  say  touch  it  not."t 

The  same  gentleman  writes  me  under  date  of  Dec.  10th,  1846  : 

11  Bermuda  grass  well  set,  which  affords  the  finest  and  most  nutritious  pasturage  I  have 
ever  seen,  will  keep  almost  any  number  of  sheep  to  the  acre — three  or  four  times  as  many 
as  the  best  blue-grass  !  " 

Unless  this  is  gross  and  willful  exaggeration,^  here  you  have  a  grass 
which  is  not  only  highly  palatable  and  nutritive,  but  which  will  yield 
more  than  double  both  of  pasturage  and  hay,  than  the  best  grass  or  clover 
of  the  Northern  States  !  ||  It  has  been  tried  as  far  south  as  New-Orleans, 
and  the  climate  found  no  detriment  to  it.  It  will  flourish  on  dry  and  al- 
most barren  sands. §  What  can  the  farmer  on  the  dry  lands  of  the  tide- 
water zone  ask  more  1  [ts  inextirpable  character  I  regard  as  decidedly  in 

*  Cumberland  Grass — Wire  grass  of  Virginia — Creeping  Panic  grass. 

t  See  Norman's  Southern  Agricultural  Almanac,  for  1847. 

j  Neither  of  which  are  we  permitted  to  suspect,  from  the  well-known  character  and  intelligence  af  Mr 
Affleck. 

|i  People  here  in  the  North  sometimes  talk  of  getting  three  tons  of  timothy  and  four  tons  of  clover  (at 
Ivro  cuttings)  per  acre,  but  it  is  not  done  on  one  acre  in  ten  thousand,  on  the  best  meadows  !  Twa  tons  lg 
a  gcod,  and  by  far  above  a  medium  yield,  of  timothy,  and  three,  of  clover.  The  large  amounts  of  Ber- 
muda sometimes  cut,  which  Mr.  A.  does  not  mention  for  fear  of  "straining  the  belief  of  his  readers  "  ha 
has  stated  to  me  personally,  to  be  eight  tons! ! — equivalent  to  the  yield  of  three  first-rate  acres  c<"  Mnoth/ 
Mi  the  bent  grazing  lands  of  Southern  New- York. 

8  Mr.  AiHeck  informs  me  he  has  repeatedly  seen  it  growing  w^ll  w  such  situations. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY.  IN  THE  SOUTH.  39 

its  favor  on  millions  and  millions  on  the  thinner   and  poorer  soils  of  that 

zone — as  once  admitted,  it  will  put  an  end  to  the  unprofitable   tillage 

practiced  on  them,  and  remove  all  temptation   to  resort  to  it  on  others,  as 

;y  are   gradually  rescued  from  barrenness.     It  will  thus  compel  the 

Joption  of  that  pastoral  system  which  can  alone  make  these  lands  prof- 
itable, or  save  them,  if  the  forebodings  of  those  who  have  been  reared  on 
them  and  are  deeply  attached  to  them,  can  be  credited,  from  ultimate  de- 
ecrtion.* 

You  have  another  fodder  crop — and  which  may  be  made  a  green  ma- 
nuring one,  in  no  respect  inferior  to  clover.  The  pea  is  to  the  South  what 
clover  is  to  the  North.t  There  is  something  in  your  soil  or  climate,  or 
both,  which  seems  to  be  specifically  adapted  to  the  development  of  this 
plant — f  Dr  it  nourishes  with  you  under  a  much  greater  variety  of  soils  -and 
circumstances  than  at  the  North.  A  leguminous  plant,  like  clover,  it  draws 
much  of  its  aliment  from  the  atmosphere  ;  and  it  is  perhaps  as  sensibly 
affected  by  the  same  cheap  manure,  plaster.  Its  haulm  or  straw,  if  cut  and 
cured  greenish,  and  well  taken  care  of,  makes  a  good,  rich  fodder  relished 
by  all  kinds  of  stock.  Peas  are  greedily  eaten  by  neat  stock,  swine,  and 
sheep,  for  which  they  form  a  healthy  and  highly  nutritious-  food.  The 
white  field  pea  of  the  North  is  considered  equivalent  to  our  corn,f  by 
measure,  in  fattening  swine.  For  sheep,  and  particularly  for  breeding 
ewes,  there  is  probably  no  feed  in  the  world  equal  to  nicely  cured  pea 
haulm, j|  with  a  portion  of  the  seed  left  unthreshed.§  It  gives  them  condi- 
tion and  vigor — and  prepares  them  to  yield  a  bountiful  supply  of  rich  milk 
to  their  young. 

Though  the  pea  is  an  annual,  it  becomes  in  effect  a  perennial,  South, 
when  it  is  desired,  by  suffering  it  to  stand  until  some  of  the  grain  shellw 
out.ft  It  will  mature  in  a  southern  climate,  sown  late  in  the  summer,  so 
that  one,  and  even  two  preceding  crops  of  it  might  first  be  plowed  in  as  a 
manure.  It  will  ripen  among  Indian  corn,  sown  after  that  plant  has  ceased 
to  grow,  and  there  have  been  successful  experiments  of  sowing  it  late  with 
wheat,  oats,  &c.,  to  have  it  obtain  its  growth  (to  be  plowed  under  as  ma- 
nure) after  those  crops  have  been  harvested. 

Sprengel  gives  the  following  analysis  of  the  pea.  1,000  parts  in  the 
common  dry  state  yield 


Potash  and  soda.  ...  

Seed. 
15-50 

Straw. 

Sulphuric  acid 

tittd 
0-52 

Strain. 

Lime  and  maqnesia  .  

1-95 

30-70 

Chlorine  . 

•38 

ti-oo 

Phosphoric  acid  

1-90 

2-40 

Silica,  iron,  &c  

4-40 

10-85 

*  Statements  of  this  kind  have  been  repeatedly  made  in  the  pages  of  the  Monthly  Farmer  by  southern 
gentlemen. 

t  I  had  labored  under  the  impression  that  the  so-called  pea — cultivated  as  a  manuring  crop  in  the  South 
ern  States,  was  in  reality  a  variety  of  the  bean  ;  but  Mr.  Ruffin  in  his  Agricultural  Survey  of  South  Caro- 
lina, (see  Report  of  1843,  p  81,)  and  Hon.  VV.  13.  Seabrpok in  his  Memoir  on  Cotton  Culture,  (see  Monthly 
Journal  of  Agriculture,  Dec.,  1845,  p.  287,)  speaks  of  this  crop— the  former  again  and  again— as  peas,  with- 
out  the  qualification  which  would  be  expected  from  gentlemen  of  so  much  learning,  in  case  they  wero 
cpeaking  of  a  plant  by  a  vulgar  misnomer,  instead  of  its  real  name.  The  peculiar  value  of  the  crop  at  th« 
South  in  the  particulars  described,  I  find  asserted  by  Mr.  Ruffin,  Mr.  Affleck,  and  various  other  writers  and 
Agricultural  Societies,  in  the  strongest  terms,  and  therefore  it  makes  little  difference,  practically,  whether 
the  name  is  correct  or  not ,  but  if  not,  the  following  analyses,  &c.,  are  misplaced.  The  bean  resemble* 
the  p?a  in  its  qualities  and  value,  but  is  rather  inferior  to  it. 

J  The  small,  hard  corn  of  the  North  contains  more  nutriment  per  bushe?  than  the  ]arge  southern  com. 

||  That  is,  cut  and  cured  so  that  it  will  come  out  of  the  stock  or  mow  bright,  and  with  the  leaves  looking 
green— instead  of  having  the  ferruginous  hue  of  over-ripe  clover. 

§  If  cut  greenish  and  well  cured,  the  greener  pods  will  not  thresh  out  readily,  and  then  they  are  in  ex- 
actly  the  proper  condition  for  breeding-ewes.  If  the  crop  is  very  light,  cut  it  when  all  the  pods  are  quito 
green,  and  feed  it  out  without  threshing. 

IT  This  is,  however,  poor  economy  in  any  case.  If  the  objec  is  peas,  it  is  wasteful  to  the  crop,  and  the 
quantity  sown  is  uncertain  ;  besides,  the  haulm  is  ruined  for  fodder.  If  the  object  is  manure,  the  loss  is 
etill  greater.  Plants  in  drying  lose  the  nitrogen  contained  in  their  sap,  give  up  their  saline  matters,  and  are 
"  resolved  more  or  less  completely  into  carbonic  acid,  which  escapes  into  the-  air,  and  is  so  far  lost." — See 
Liehig  on  this  subject,  and  ilso  the  clear  and  able  remarks  of  Johnston,  (Johnston's  Agricultural  Chemistry. 
vrL  ii.  p.  176,  et  supra.) 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  N  THE  SOUTH. 


The  following  table  ol  the  comparative  value  of  manures,  deduced  from 
analyses  made  by  Payen  and  Bouasmgault,  will  show  the  remarkable  com 
parative  value  of  the  pea  as  a  manuring  crop,  and  it  will  be  found  other 
wise  useful  for  reference  : 


TABLE  No.   1. 


Kinds  of  Manure. 


7-6 
8-5 

19- 

LI- 

12' 


Farm  yard  dung. . 

Dung  water 

Wheat  straw 

Rye  straw 

Oat  straw 

Barley  straw 

Wheat  chaff. 

Pea  straw 

Millet  straw 

Buckwheat  straw. 
Dried  potato  tops  . 
With'd  1'ves  of  beet-root  88 

Do.  of  potatoes 

Do.  of  carrots 

Do.  of  heather 

Do.  of  oak 

Do.  of  poplar 

Do.  of  beech 

Clover  roots 

Burned  sea-weed 

Oyster  shells 

Sea  shells 

Sea-side  marl 

Solid  cow-dung 

Urine  of  cows 

Solid  horse-dung 

Horse  urine 

Pig  dung 

Sheep  dung 

Pigeon  dung 

Guano 

Do 

Fresh  bones 

Feathers 

Woolen  rags 

jHorn  shavings 

Coal  soot 

jWood  soot 

iPicardy  ashes 


51 
39 

9 

3 
17 

1-0 
85-9 


15-6 


9-2 


Nitrogen  in,  \      Quality     I 
.OQof  matter,  according  to\ 
I        state. 


2-30 
2-94 
1-90 
1-5? 
1-1? 
1-91 
1-77 
0-40 
0-40 
0-05 


Wet.  |  Dry.|   Wet.  ]• 


0-41 

0-06 

0-24 
0-i7 

0-28 


0'48 


0'55 
0'85 
1-74 
1-18 
0-54 
1-18 
1-61 
0-38 


0-32 
0*44 
0-55 

12-50  2'61 
0-63 
1-11 
8-30 
5-00 

15-7313-95 
5-31 

_.    __ 15-34 

20-26  17-98 


9-0  15-78J14-36    80! 


1-15 
0-65 


]'JO 


22 


150 

97 

80 


100 


2 

GO 

42-5 

TO 

57-5 
,  212-5 
100    447-5 
49l   11)5 
27  1    120 

92-5 
1  25 
137-5 
212-5 
425 
293 


26 

117 


641 
172 


462 


134 
294 
402-5 
95 
80 
13 
128 
80 
110 
137-5 
652-5 
157-5 
277-5 

2075 

1247 

3487 

1326 

3835 

4495 

3590 
337-5 
287-5 
162-5 


100 


650 

975 

542 

750 

207 

100 

203 

361 

453 

43 

85 

66 

103 

125 

167 

102 

110 

488 

488 

3750 

377 

84 

51 

88 

I? 

65 


31J 
I*] 

11 

9; 
12i 

122 
149 


silent 
ding 

Off. 

Wet 

Remarks. 

100 

Average  of  Bechelbixuu. 

68 

Washed  by  the  rain. 

167 

Fresh  of  Alsace,  1838. 

235 

Of  Alsace. 

143 

do. 

174 

do. 

47 

do. 

22 

do. 

51 

do. 

83 

do. 

108 

80 

Of  mangel-wurzel. 

73 

Withered  top  and  leaves. 

47 

23 

Dried  in  the  air. 

34 

Leaves  fallen  in  autumn. 

74 

do. 

34 

do. 

25 

Dried  hi  the  air. 

105 

125 

769 

Dried  sea-shells  of  Dunkirk 

78 
125 
91 

73 
151 
63 
36 


The  horse  drank  but  little,  tha 
[urine  was  thick. 

Of  Bechelbronn. 
Imp.  into  Eng.  in  its  ord.  state.' 
Imp.  into  France,        do. 
As  sold  by  the  melters. 


It  will  be  seen  that  pea  straw  is  worth,  as  a  manure,  from  5  to  9  times 
as  much  as  the  straws  of  the  small  grains — is  better  than  clover  roots,  arid 
actually  equals  farm-yard  dung ! 

Rye,  oats  and  barley  send  up  a  good  growth  of  straw,  in  many  parts 
of  this  zone,  even  where  the  product  of  grain  is  small ;  and,  sown  in  the 
fall,  they  afford  sweet  green  pasturage,  during  the  entire  winter,  in  the 
more  southern  latitudes.  This  is  a  very  important  and  a  very  favorable 
consideration  in  an  economical  system  of  sheep  husbandry.  All  winter 
green  feed  (roots)  in  the  Northern  States  must  be  cultivated,  harvested, 
protected  from  the  frosts  of  winter  in  cellars,  and  daily  fed  out — which  ne- 
cessarily renders  it  expensive.  Where  winter  field  crops  can  be  depas- 
tured on  the  ground,  it  saves  the  greatest  proportion  of  this  expense  ;  and, 
though  winter  green  feed  is  not  indispensable  to  sheep,  it  promotes  their 
health,  early  maturity,  and  is  especially  valuable  to  breeding-ewes.  All 
ihe  crops  above  named,  too,  can  be  profitably  made  use  of  as  green 
manure. 


SHEEP    HUSBANDRY    IN    THE    SOUTH.  41 

Blades  of  corn,  well  cured,  are  relished  by  sheep,  and  they  thrive  01 
them.* 

The  sweet  potato  is  also  readily  eaten  by  them,  and  it  fattens  them  per 
haps  as  rapidly  as  any  other  root  crop.  Although  it  might  be  regarded  ai 
Coo  valuable  for  sheep  feed,  in  regions  where  the  whole  force  is  given  U 
the  culture  of  cotton,  there  are  others  where,  I  cannot  but  believe,  it  migh? 
oe  occasionally  if  not  regularly  resorted  to  with  profit,  unless  rye,  oats 
oarley,  &c.  can  be  provided  so  much  more  cheaply  that  it  is  no  object  so 
to  do.  It  is  so  cheaply  planted  by  slips,  and  tilled  with  so  little  trouble, 
and  it  so  admirably  prepares  land  for  subsequent  crops,t  that,  on  rich  and 
otherwise  favorable  soils,  my  impression  is  strong  it  is,  at  all  events,  as 
cheap  a  winter  feed  for  stock  in  the  South  as  the  Irish  potato  is  in  the 
North.  Its  average  yield  is  about  two-thirds  that  of  the  latter.  The  Irish 
potato  is  universally  regarded  as  one  of  the  cheapest  feeds  that  can  bo 
given  to  all  kinds  of  stock,  to  which  it  is  adapted  in  the  North.  It  is  true 
that  it  is  not  fed  so  much  as  it  would  otherwise  be,  with  us,  in  the  winter, 
by  reason  of  the  cold.  It  is  difficult  to  protect  this  root  from  freezing,  and 
at  the  same  time  leave  it  accessible  for  daily  feeding,  without  putting  it  in 
dwelling-house  cellars,  which  are  usually  at  some  distance  from  the  feed- 
ing barns  and  yards ;  and  besides,  the  conversion  of  this  citadel  of  a  north- 
ern matron's  culinary  stores,  into  a  great,  dirty  root  pit,  would  be  a  most 
grierous  infringement  on  all  the  canons  of  good  housewifery  ! 

The  foregoing  facts  show  that  the  Southern  States  have  already  all  that 
is  necessary  to  feed  stock  and  fertilize  their  fields.  Their  pea,  take  it  all 
in  all,  is  a  full  equivalent  for  the  clover  of  the  North.J  By  means  of  it — 
of  Bermuda  and  some  other  grasses — aided  by  the  droppings  of  sheep,  and 
other  cheap  and  convenient  manures,  a  large  proportion  of  the  tide-water 
aone,  no\v  so  unproductive,  can  be  converted  into  grazing  lands,  which  will 
yield  as  good  a  per  centage  on  present  capital  and  investment  as  the  best 
cotton  uplands,  and  produce  wool  at  a  less  expense  pcr  pound  tlian  any  re- 
gion of  the  United  States  north  of  the  Potomac. 

*  A  friend  of  mine  wintered  a  few  Merino  sheep  on  not  only  the  blades,  but  the  stalks,  of  our  northern 
corn,  chopping  the  whole  up  together,  and  adding  a  little  bran  or  shorts.  He  found  it  cheap  feed,  and  the 
sheep  got  fat  enough  to  slaughter  before  spring. 

t  After  the  crop  is  harvested,  swine  are  turned  in,  and  they  root  the  ground  over  so  deeply  and  tho:--' 
cmghly  that  it  is  in  a  better  state  of  tillage  than  could  be  produced  by  mere  spring  plowing. 

\  Mr.  Ruffin,  the  great  advocate  for  clover,  admits  that  in  the  South  it  is  not  fitted  to  precede  Indian  corn, 
oa  account  of  the  destructive  cut  worms  it  harbors,  unless  the  land  be  plowed  "early  in  winter,"  or  othet 
precautionary  steps  are  uken.  The  pea  is  not  liable  to  this  objection.  See  Rulfia's  Ag.  Survey  cf  S.  Cs 


42  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


LETTER  IV. 

TEE  ADAPTATION  OF  THE  SOILS,  HERBAGE,  &c.  OF  THE  SOUTHERN 
STATES  TO  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY,  CONTINUED.  2.  OF  THE  MIDDLE  ()a 
HILLY  ZONE.  3.  OF  THE  MOUNTAIN  REGION. 


Climate,  Soils,  and  Productions  of  the  Middle  or  Hilly  Zone — Irs  evident  Adaptation  to  Sheep  IIusbp.ndry 
...The  Mountain  Region...  Altitudes  of  different  Ranges  and  Peaks — Their  general  Shape — Freedom  from 
Rocks.  Precipices,  &i:...  Table  Lands— Their  Geological  Formations — Products..  .Mr.  Clingman's  Letter 
describing  the  Roan  and  other  Mountains  in  North  Carolina. . -Mr.  Buckley's  Counter  Statements... Mr. 
Karle's  Description  of  the  Mountains  in  Henderson  and  Rutherford  Counties,  North  Carolina.  ..Col.  Cola- 
ton's  Statements  in  relation  to  the  Mountains  in  Berkley  County,  Virginia..  .Hon.  A.  Stevenson's  in  rela- 
tion to  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  the  Mountains  in  the  South-west  of  Virginia — Hon.  W.  L.  Goggin's  in  relation 
to  the  same. .  .Judge  Beatty's  Account  of  Sheep  Husbandry  on  the  Cumberland  Mountains— Mr.  Kramer's 
...Mr.  Buckley's  Views  in  relation  to  the  North  Carolina  Mountains  examined  and  objected  to... Climate 
of  the  Roan  and  others  compared  with  that  of  the  Grazing  Lands  of  New-York. .. Statistics  showing  the 
Forwardness  of  the  Seasons  and  the  Temperature  in  New-York. .  .Effect  of  Elevation  on  Temperature 
On  Vegetable  Productions. 

,  Dear  Sir :  The  middle  or  hilly  zone  is  high,  dry,  healthy,  and  has  a 
mild  and,  compared  with  the  North,  equable  climate.*  Its  soils  possess 
the  ingredients  due  to  its  formation — disintegrated  granite — and  are  far 
more  fertile  than  those  of  the  lower  zone.  Sometimes  on  the  summits  of 
the  hills  they  are  poor  and  thin,  and  there  are  occasionally  extensive  ranges 
of  poor  land,  as  in  Virginia  ;  but  as  a  general  thing,  they  vary  from  fair  to 
good ;  and  on  the  bottom  lands  of  some  of  the  rivers  and  larger  creeks, 
they  possess  remarkable  fertility.  The  valleys,  however,  are  generally 
narrow,  and  are  everywhere  the  bed  of  streams,  which  abundantly  water 
this  whole  region,  and  furnish  inexhaustible  facilities  for  mills  and  manu- 
factories. The  slight  cohesion  of  the  soil,  aided  by  the  face  of  the  country 
and  the  system  of  tillage  pursued  in  many  parts  of  it,t  render  it  peculiarly 
subject  to  washing  by  heavy  rains.  The  hill-sides  are  frequently  cut  into 
deep  gullies,. rendering  aration  difficult,!  and  the  surface  soil  is  washed 
into  the  valleys  and  into  the  beds  of  the  creeks,  not  only  impoverishing  the 
high  lands,  but,  by  impeding  the  courses  of  the  streams,  in  some  regions 
converting  those  of  the  valleys  into  unhealthy  marshes.|| 

Grasses  suited  to  the  climate  flourish  when  sown,  and  on  lands  not  ut- 
terly worn  out,  throughout  all  this  region;  and  there  is  little  doubt  that 
every  variety  which  could  be  acclimated  on  the  sands  of  the  lower  zone, 
could  be  more  readily  acclimated  here — and  probably  various  others.  The 
pea  succeeds  in  nearly  every  situation ;  oats  also  form  a  valuable  ma- 
nuring crop  in  some  parts  ;  while  on  many  of  the  alluvial  bottoms,  such, 
for  example,  as  the  Blackjack  lands  of  South  Carolina — rye  grows  luxuri- 
antly, answering  a  valuable  purpose  either  for  grain,  manure,  or  for  winter 

*  The  range  ol  the  thermometer  is  sometimes  60°  to  75°  in  a  single  month  (March  or  April)  in  Nevr- 
York! 

t  That  is,  a  constant  succession  of  clean  tillage  crops,  such  as  cotton,  corn,  and  tobacco. 

J  The  Fishing  Creek  Agricultural  Society,  in  their  Repoi't  before  quoted  from,  say  :  "The  only  really 
waste  land  we  have  is  our  old  fields,  many  of  which  are  so  washed  end  gullied  as  to  be  absolutely  irre- 
claimable." Mr.  Ruffin  says  that  "the  destruction  both  of  soil  and  of  fertility  has  been  enormous "  from 
this  cause. 

||  "  The  country  was,  at  first,  as  its  features  indicated,  nearly  free  from  malaria  and  all  its  noxious  effects 
But  as  soon  as  the  incessant  and  injudicious  use  of  the  plow  caused  the  soil  to  be  washed  from  the  hilly 
grounds  into  the  bottoms,  the  before  unobstructed  clean  bordered  channels  of  all  the  small  streams  were 
filled  and  clogged  with  earth,  and  vegetable  rubbish,  and  fine"  matter,  and  the  adjacent  low  lands  were 
thereby  renderedlswampy.  The  washing  of  the  high  land  earth  into  the  valleys  so  altered  the  original  sur- 
face level  as  to  kill  the  trees  ;  and  their  decay,  and.  later,  the  obstructions  by  their  fallen  trunks,  increased  the 

ceneral  evi! I  infer"  that  these  ranges  "have  mainly  served  to  nourish  malaria  and  increase  tha 

/nalijnity  of  disease."  [Ruffin' a  Ag.  Survey  of  S.  C.,  1843,  p.  96.J 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE   SC  UTH.  43 

feed  for  stock.     In  this  last  particular,  it  would  be,  as  I  lia\o  before  saM 
an  important  auxiliary  in  sheep  husbandry. 

The  adaptation  of  mo^t  of  this  region  to  sheep  husbandry  is  too  obviouj 
to  require  extended  comment ;  and  it  becomes,  therefore,  simply  a  ques- 
tion of  profit  and  loss,  whether  it  is  expedient  to  introduce  it.*  Let  us  turn 
therefore,  to  the  adaptation  of  the  mountain  region  to  this  branch  of  industry 

The  altitude  of  the  southern  mountains,  with  a  few  exceptions,  is  nol 
very  considerable.  The  loftiest,  the  Black  and  the  Roan,  in  North  Caro- 
lina, are  respectively  6,476  and  6,038  feet  in  hight.  The  Peaks  of  Otter, 
the  highest,  and  summits  of  the  Blue  Ridge  in  Virginia,  are  4,250,  and  the 
highest  Alleganies  2,500  feet  high.  Table  Mountain  in  South  Carolina 
is  about  4,000,  and  the  terminal  masses  of  the  Blue  Ridge  in  Georgia  are 
about  l,500.f  The  hight  of  the  Cumberland  Mountains,  the  most  western 
chain,  I  nowhere  find  stated,  but  they  are  not  reputed  as  high  as  some  of 
the  preceding.  It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  none  of  the  southern  moun- 
tains rise  above  the  range  of  the  grasses.  They  are  usually  broad  at  the 
base,  easy  of  ascent,  and  rounded  or  flattened  on  their  summits,  instead 
of  rising  from  narrow  bases  into  steep  pyramidal  forms  with  conical  peaks  ; 
and  from  their  geological  formations  and  their  shape  (resulting  probably 
from  that  formation,)  they  are  uncommonly  free  from  exposed  rocks,  preci- 
pices and  abrupt  acclivities.  With  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  the  Cum- 
berland chain,  large,  exposed  rocks  abound  far  less,  on  most  of  these 
mountains  than  in  many  parts  of  New-England,  or  even  the  Old  Red  Sand- 
stone region  of  Pennsylvania,  which  are  not  only  pastured,  but  plowed ! 
Indeed,  a  side-hill  plow,  drawn  by  oxen,  could  be  used  on  very  many  of 
the  southern  mountains,  if  cleared,  to  their  very  summits  ;  and  this  is  true, 
singular  as  it  may  appear,  of  some  of  the  loftiest  of  them.J  The  Cumber- 
land Mountains  are  spoken  of  by  Doct.  Morse,  as  "  stupendous  piles  of 
craggy  rocks,"  and  in  these  statements  he  has  been  followed  by  more  re» 
cent  geographers.  But  if  this  description  applies  to  some  portions  of  the 
chain,  it  certainly  does  not  to  others,  as  I  shall  have  occasion  to  show. 

On  the  sides,  and  sometimes  on  the  summits  of  the  mountains  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  this  whole  region,  extensive  plains  or  table  lands,  already 
pretty  well  covered  with  wild  and  domestic  grasses  and  nutritious  escu- 
lents, not  unfrequently  occur.  Esculents  suitable  for  sheep  are  to  be 
found  in  greater  or  less  quantities  on  nearly  all  of  them. 

West  of  the  summit  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  the  geological  formations,  as 
has  before  been  stated,  belong  to  the  Transition  period — a  rather  unusual 
circumstance  in  mountain  ranges,  and  undoubtedly  more  indicative  of 
fertility  in  the  superincumbent  soils  than  the  ordinary  Primary  formation. |j 
Indeed,  they  are  the  same  with  those  of  the  best  grazing  lands  of  South- 
ern New- York,  and  subtracting  climatic  and  other§  effects  of  elevation, 
they  should  possess  a  general  correspondence  in  their  properties  and  pro- 
ducts, with  the  latter.^] 

*  This  question  will  be  fully  discussed  in  a  subsequent  letter. 

t  For  these  altitudes.  I  am  indebted  to  Professor  Mitchell. 

}  For  example,  the  Roan. 

||  It  is  true  that  soils  formed  from  Primary  rocks,  when  sufficiently  fertile  to  sustain  herbage  of  any  kind 
are  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  production  of  sweet  grasses;  bat  mountains  of  this  formation  are  usually 
eteeper,  from  the  slower  decomposition  of  granite,  gneiss,  and  Dther  Primary  rocks,  and  their  steepness  ex 
poses  them  to  increased  abrasion,  or  washing.  Hence  their  soils  frequently  but  thinly  cover  the  rocks, 
mnd  are  of  a  meager  and  lixiviated  character. 

§  To  wit.  abrasion  and  denudation  by  rains.  And,  moreover,  the  '•  northern  drift  "  of  New- York  has  added 
*  little  lime  to  the  soils  formed  from  these  rocks,  and  thus  supplied,  measurably,  a  want  existing  in  all  of 
them  for  most  tillage  crops. 

li"  For  example,  (he  ''Slate  Hills."  which  rise  on  the  west  of  Augusta,  Rockingham,  Shenandoah,  Fred- 
erick and  some  other  counties  in  Virginia,  are  composed  of  the  same  rocks  (Hamilton  group,  including 
Genesee  slate  of  the  New-York  system.)  which  underlie  some  of  the  best  soils  in  New-York;  ard  much 
of  the  land  between  these  hills  and  the  Allegauies  rests  on  the  same  rocks,  (Chemung,)  which  underlie 
the  southern  grazing  region  of  New- York. 


44  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

In  ascertaining  the  particular  products  of  these  mountains,  their  climate, 
and  general  adaptation  to  sheep  husbandry,  I  will  first  call  your  attention 
to  the  often  quoted  letter  from  Hon.  T.  L.  Clingman,  of  North  Carolina, 
lo  John  S.  Skinner,  Esq.,  in  1844.  Mr.  Clingman  says  : 

"  You  state  that  you  have  directed  some  attention  to  the  Sheep  Husbandry  of  the  United 
States,  in  the  course  of  which  it  has  occurred  to  you  that  the  people  of  the  mountain  regions 
of  North  Carolina,  and  some  of  the  other  Southern  States,  have  not  availed  themselves  suffi- 
ciently of  their  natural  advantages  for  the  production  of  sheep.  Being  myself  well  acquaint- 
ed with  the  western  section  of  North  Carolina,  I  may  perhaps  be  able  to  give  you  most  of 
the  information  you  desire.  As  you  have  directed  several  of  your  inquiries  to  the  county 
of  Yancey,  (I  presume  from  the  fact,  well  known  to  you,  that  it  contains  the  highest  mouik- 
tains  in  any  of  the  United  States.)  I  will,  in  the  first  place,  turn  my  attention  to  that  county. 
First,  as  to  its  elevation.  Dr.  Mitchell,  of  our  University,  ascertained  that  the  bed  of  Tow 
River,  the  largest  stream  in  the  county,  and  at  a  ford  near  its  center,  was  about  2,200  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  ocean.  Burnsville,  the  seat  of  the  court-house,  he  found  to  be  be- 
tween 2,800  and  2,900  feet  above  it.  The  general  level  of  the  country  is,  of  course,  much 
above  this  elevation.  In  fact,  a  number  of  the  mountain  summits  rise  above  the  hight  of 
6,000  feet.  The  climate  is  delightfully  cool  during  the  summer;  in  fact  there  are  very  few 
places  in  the  county  where  the  thermometer  rises  above  80°  on  the  hottest  day.  An  intel- 
ligent gentleman  who  passed  the  summer  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county  (rather  the 
more  elevated  portion  of  it)  informed  me  that  the  thermometer  did  not  rise  on  the  hottest 
da  ~s  above  76°. 

'  You  ask,  in  the  next  place,  if  the  surface  of  the  ground  is  so  mucn  covered  with  rocks  ae 
to  reader  it  unfit  for  pasture  ?  The  reverse  is  the  fact;  no  portion  of  the  county  that  I  have 
passed  over  is  too  rocky  for  cultivation ;  and  in  many  sections  of  the  county  one  may  travel 
miles  without  seeing  a  single  stone.  It  is  only  about  the  tops  of  the  higher  mountains  that 
rocky  precipices  are  to  be  found.  A  large  portion  of  the  surface  of  the  county  is  a  sort  of 
elevated  table-land,  undulating,  but  seldom  too  broken  for  cultivation.  Even  as  one  as- 
cends the  higher  mountains,  he  will  find  occasionally  on  their  sides  flats  of  level  land  con- 
taining several  hundred  acres  in  a  body.  The  top  of  the  Roan  (the  highest  mountain  in  the 
county  except  the  Black)  is  covered  by  a  prairie  for  ten  miles,  which  affords  a  rich  pasture 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  year.  The  ascent  to  it  is  so  gradual  that  persons  ride  to  the 
top  on  horseback  from  almost  any  direction.  The  same  may  be  said  of  many  of  the  other 
mountains.  The  soil  of  the  county  generally  is  uncommonly  fertile,  producing  with  tolera- 
ble cultivation  abundant  crops.  What  seems  extraordinary  to  a  stranger  is  the  fact  that  the 
soil  becomes  richer  as  he  ascends  the  mountains.  The  sides  of  the  Roan,  the  Black,  the 
Bald,  and  others,  at  an  elevation  even  of  five  or  six  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  are  covered 
with  a  deep,  rich  vegetable  mould,  so  soft  that  a  horse  in  dry  weather  often  sinks  to  the  fet- 
lock. The  fact  that  the  soil  is  frequently  more  fertile  as  one  ascends  is,  I  presume,  attrib- 
utable to  the  circumstance  that  the  higher  portions  are  more  commonly  covered  with  clouds ; 
and  the  vegetable  matter  being  thus  kept  in  a  cool,  moist  state  while  decaying,  is  incorpo- 
rated to  a  greater  degree  with  the  surface  of  the  earth,  just  as  it  is  usually  found  that  the 
north  side  of  the  hill  is  richer  than  the  portion  most  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  sun's  rays. 
The  sides  of  the  mountains,  the  timber  being  generally  large,  with  little  undergrowth  and 
brushwood,  are  peculiarly  fitted  for  pasture  grounds,  and  the  vegetation  is  in  many  places  as 
luxuriant  as  it  is  in  the  rich  savannah  of  the  low  country. 

44  The  soil  of  every  part  of  the  county  is  not  only  favorable  to  the  production  of  grain,  but 
is  peculiarly  fitted  for  grasses.  Timothy  is  supposed  to  make  the  largest  yield,  two  tons  of 
hay  being  easily  produced  on  an  acre,  but  herds-grass,  or  red-top,  ami  clover  succeed  equally 
well ;  blue-grass  has  not  been  much  tried,  but  is  said  to  do  remarkably  well.  A  friend 
showed  nie  several  spears  which  he  informed  me  were  produced  in  the  normern  part  of  the 
county,  and  which  by  measurement  were  found  to  exceed  TO  inches  in  length.  Oats,  rye. 
potatoes,  turnips,  &c.,  are  produced  in  the  greatest  .abundance. 

44  With  respect  to  the  prices  of  land,  I  can  assure  you  that  large  bodies  of  uncleared,  rich 
land,  most  of  which  might  be  cultivated,  have  been  sold  at  prices  varying  from  25  cents  U» 
50  cents  per  acre.  Any  quantity  of  land  favorable  for  sheep-walks  might  be  procured  in 
any  section  of  the  county  at  prices  varying  from  one  to  ten  dollars  per  acre 

44  The  few  sheep  that  exist  in  the  county  thrive  remarkably  well,  and  are  sometimes  per- 
mitted to  run  at  large  during  the  winter  without  being  fed  and  without  suffering.  As  the 
number  kept  by  any  individual  is  not  large  enough  to  justify  the  employment  of  a  shepherd 
to  take  care  of  them,  they  are  not  unfrequently  destroyed  by  vicious  dogs,  and  more  rarely 
by  wolves,  which  have  not  yet  been  entirely  exterminated. 

41 1  have  been  somewhat  prolix  in  my  observations  on  this  county,  because  some  of  your 
inquiries  were  directed  particularly  to  it,  and  because  most  of  what  I  have  said  of  Yancey  is 
true  of  the  other  counties  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  Hay  wood  has  about  the  same  elevation 
and  climate  as  Yancey.  The  mountains  are  rather  more  steep,  and  the  valleys  somewhat 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY   IN    THE   SOUTH.  45 


broader;  the  soil  generally  not  quite  so  deep,  but  very  productive,  especially  in  grasses.  In 
some  sections  of  the  county,  however,  the  soil  is  equal  to  the  best  I  have  se^n. 

"  Buncombe  and  Henderson  are  rather  less  elevated ;  Ashville  and  Hendersonville,  the 
county  towns,  being  each  about  2,200  feet  above  the  sea.  The  climate  is  much  the  same, 
but  a  very  little  wanner.  The  more  broken  portions  of  these  counties  resemble  much  the 
mountainous  parts  of  Yancey  and  Haywood,  but  they  contain  much  more  level  land.  In- 
deed  the  greater  portion  of  Henderson  is  quite  level.  It  contains  much  swamp  land,  which, 
when  cleared,  with  very  little  if  any  drainage,  produces  veiy  fine  crops  of  herds-grass.  Por- 
tions of  Macon  and  Cherokee  counties  are  quite  as  favorable,  both  as  to  climate  and  soil,  as 
those  above  described.  I  would  advert  particularly  to  the  valley  of  the  Nantahalah,  in  Ma- 
COD,  and  of  Cheoh,  in  Cherokee.  In  either,  for  a  comparatively  trifling  price,  some  ten  or 
fifteen  miles  square  could  be  procured,  all  of  which  would  be  rich,  and  the  major  part  suf- 
ficiently level  for  cultivation,  and  especially  fitted,  as  their  natural  meadows  indicate,  for  the 
production  of  grass. 

"  lu  conclusion,  I  may  say,  that  as  far  as  my  limited  knowledge  of  such  matters  authorizes 
me  to  speak,  I  am  satisfied  that  there  is  no  region  that  is  more  favorable  to  the  production 
of  sheep  than  much  of  the  country  I  have  described.  It  is  everywhere  healthy  and  well 
watered.  I  may  add,  too,  that  there  is  water-power  enough  in  the  different  counties  com- 
posing my  Congressional  District  to  move  more  machinery  than  human  labor  can  ever  place 
there— enough,  perhaps,  to  move  all  now  existing  in  the  Union." 

A  writer  in  the  Albany  Cultivator,  Mr.  S.  B.  Buckley,  of  Yates  county, 
New- York,  who  has  visited  these  mountains,  thus  objects  to  the  views  of 
Mr.  Clingman  : 

"  These  mountains  have  a  cold,  damp  climate,  the  summits  of  the  highest  being  covered 
with  clouds  and  mists  a  large  portion  of  the  summer  season.  Cold  rains  are  of  frequent  oc- 
currence, doubtless  causing  the  deep  vegetable  mould  alluded  to  by  Mr.  C.  A  large  por- 
tion of  the  county  of  Yancey  is  an  elevated  table-land  which  is  so  damp  and  cold  that  the 
inhabitants  do  not  raise  corn  sufficient  for  their  own  consumption Mr.  Husted  in- 
formed me  that  in  many  seasons  there  was  scarcely  a  month  in  the  year  without  frost  .... 
that  he  had  been  on  the  top  of  the  Roan  on  the  25th  of  June,  when  a  snow  storm  arose  and 
completely  covered  the  mountain,  and  that  there  were  few  days  in  the  year  but  that  it  was 

foggy  on  the  Roan I  have  ascended  most  of  the  high  mountains  in  that  State,  and 

rarely  without  encountering  a  storm,  or  finding  their  tops  covered  with  mists,  which  disap- 
peared in  the  cool  of  the  evening,  to  be  resumed  by  the  wanning  rays  of  the  morrow's  sun. 
In  encamping  on  the  mountains,  I  generally  found  the  thermometer  to  range  from  45°  to  60°. 
and  on  the  high  mountains,  during  the  day,  it  seldom  rose  above  65°.  The  inhabitants  of 
the  valleys  pay  great  attention  to  the  raising  of  cattle  and  horses,  which,  in  the  summer  sea- 
son, are  tunied  upon  the  mountains  in  what  is  termed  'the  range,'  which  consists  of  tall 
weeds,  native  grasses,  and  in  many  places  white  clover  has  become  naturalized.  *  *  *  * 

"  These  remarks  will  apply  more  or  less  to  the  mountainous  region  of  Haywood  and  Ma- 
con  counties,  from  which  we  conclude  that  they  are  not  suitable  to  the  raising  of  fme-wooled 
sheep,  judging  from  their  elevation,  damp  and  cold  climate,  which,  as  before  remarked  by 
Mr.  C.,  creates  a  deep  vegetable  mould,  in  which  a  horse  will  sink  up  to  the  fetlock.  And 
would  not  sheep  sink  in  also,  and  be  liable  to  have  the  foot-rot  ?  And  in  yeaning  time  would 
not  many  lambs  be  lost  from  the  frequent  cold  rains  so  common  there  during  the  month  of 
May?"* 

In  a  previous  communication  in  the  Cultivator  the  same  writer  says  :  f 

"  On  the  12th  of  May  I  arrived  at  Ashville,  (the  capital  of  Buncombe  county,)  intending 
to  visit  Mt.  Pisgah,  a  high  conical  mountain  in  full  view,  about  twelve  miles  distant,  over- 
topping its  neighbors.  I  was  told  that  the  season  was  not  far  enough  advanced  to  bring 
vegetation  forward  on  the  high  mountains.  .  .  .  The  climate  of  this  region  is  not  much,  if 
any,  warmer  than  that  of  Western  New-York.  During  the  summer  of  1842,  the  thermome- 
ter ranged  generally  from  70°  to  85°  in  the  valleys,  while  on  the  mountains  it  was  frequently 

about  60°,  and  sometimes  much  lower When  I  left  the  southern  portion  of  Alabama, 

it  was  the  middle  of  March ;  the  woods  were  green,  with  their  full  expanded  leaves ;  in 
about  a  week  I  had  reached  the  elevated  region  south  of  Huntsvilie,  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  State,  where  the  leaves  had  not  yet  attained  half  their  usual  size.  From  the  1st  to  the 
10th  of  April,  in  Middle  Tennessee,  the  leaves  were  nearly  full  grown  and  the  inhabitants 
were  busy  in  planting  corn ;  but  at  the  middle  of  April,  for  thirty  miles  on  the  table  land  of 
the  Jumberland  Mountains,  the  trees  had  just  begun  to  put  forth  their  leaves,  and  the  ground 
•was  white  in  the  morning  with  a  severe  frost. 

"  On  descending  into  the  plains  of  East  Tennessee,  the  country  was  green  with  verdure. 
and  the  farmers  were  there  also  busy  in  planting  corn,  and  now,  the  middle  of  May,  among 

*  See  Albany  Cultivator,  1846,  p.  242.  t  Ib.,  1946,  p,  174 


46  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH 


the  mountains  of  North  Carolina,  I  found  myself  where  vegetation  had  scarcely  dollied  tha 
plains  and  woods  with  green,  while  the  leaves  of  the  high  mountain  trees  were  about  half 
grown.  I  should  also  remark  that  the  spring  of  1842  was  from  two  weeks  to  a  month  ear 
Her  than  usual." 

I  record  a  portion  of  the  last  extract  for  subsequent  reference  ;  anc  the 
object  of  these  communications  being  to  arrive  at  the  truth,  and  net  to 
ride  a  favorite  hobby,  or  advance  a  preconceived  theory,  I  have  thought 
it  proper  to  give  the  substance  of  all  this  gentleman's  remarks,  embodying 
as  they  do  all  the  objections,  real  or  supposed,  which  exist  against  the 
highest  mountains  in  the  whole  Southern  States  for  the  purposes  of  sheep 
husbandry. 

Per  contra,  we  have  the  following  statements  of  Henry  M.  Earle,  Esq., 
of  Pacolett,  Rutherford  Co.,  North  Carolina  :  * 

"  On  the  question  whether  wool-growing  vail  succeed  in  North  Carolina  or  not,  I  would 
say  that  it  depends  entirely  upon  the  exertions  used,  as  I  am  thoroughly  convinced  that  the 
country  and  climate  arc  altogether  favorable.  The  objections  raised  by  Mr.  Buckley,  if  they 
existed  in  all  the  mountain  region,  might  be  considered  serious  ;  but  as  they  can  only  be  of- 
fered against  a  few  very  high  mountains,  situated  in  the  midst  of  many  other  mountains,  and 
far  from  any  level  or  plain  country,  such  a  hiding  place  as  he  speaks  of  would  not  be  such  a 
place  as  persons  raised  in  civilized  or  refined  society  would  wish  to  settle  in.  The  Roan 
and  Black  Mountains  were  selected  by  Mr.  Thos.  Clingman,  because  they  were  the  most 
elevated  and  noted  mountains  in  Yancey  Co.,  and  not,  I  presume,  because  he  thought  they 
would  afford  the  best  pasturage  for  sheep  ;  if  so  he  was  mistaken.  On  those  mountains  and 
in  their  vicinity  are  the  finest  grazing  lands  for  cattle  ;  and  so  there  is  in  the  low,  marshy 
land  of  South  Carolina  ;  but  neither  location  is  favorable  for  sheep.  I  agree  with  Mr.  Buck- 
ley, 'that  a  large  portion  of  the  county  of  Yancey  is  an  elevated  table  land,  which  is  so 
damp  and  cold  that  the  inhabitants  frequently  do  not  raise  com  sufficient  for  their  own  con- 
sumption.' This  is  partly  owing  to  the  climate  ;  but  mostly  to  the  character  of  many  of  the 
inhabitants  of  those  sparsely  inhabited  regions,  where  they  too  frequently  depend  upon  tno 
BMCCCSS  of  the  chase  for  the  larest  ortion  of  their  subsistence. 


"  But  if  Mr.  Buckley,  or  any  other  gentleman  of  observation,  will  come  60  miles  far- 
ther south  —  on  the  line  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  into  Henderson  and  Rutherford  counties,  about 
the  Tryon  Mountain,  which  is  the  first  that  he  will  ascend  in  rising  up  from  the  level  coun- 
try east  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  along  the  Howard-Gap  Turnpike  —  high  on  the  acclivity  of  the 
Tryon  he  will  find  a  bench  of  land  which  possesses  a  very  peculiar  characteristic.  At  night, 
generally,  there  is  a  pleasant  breeze,  and  for  several  miles  along  the  mountain  side  there  is 
never  any  dew  to  be  found,  and  it  is  very  rare  that  they  have  frost  except  in  winter  ;  and 
when  the  whale  country  above  and  below  is  covered  with  sleet,  along  this  mountain  side 
there  is  none.  Here  grow  the  finest  native  grapes  that  I  ever  saw,  and  the  fruit  crop  never 
fails.  And  here  are  grown  the  heaviest  wheat  and  rye  in  all  the  country.  Here  the  inhabit- 
ants have  the  first  dawn  of  the  morning  sun,  and  persons  unaccustomed  to  the  view  fancy 
that  they  can  almost  see  him  coming  up  from  the  watery  deep.  On  the  eastern  side  of  this 
mountain  is  the  earliest  pasturage  in  spring,  and  the  latest  in  the  fall  that  is  found  in  the 
\vhole  range  of  mountains. 

"  This  location  is  about  40  miles  E.  S.  E.  from  Ashville,  and  20  miles  S.  S.  W.  from 
Rutherfordton.  Here  two  of  those  ever  persevering  men  from  the  North,  called  Yankees, 
have  commenced  to  wall  in  a  vineyard,  and  to  cultivate  the  broom-corn  for  manufacturing 
brooms.  They  have  the  purest,  water  that  flows  out  of  the  earth,  and  around  them  are 
beautiful  cascades  more  than  a  hundred  feet  high,  and  above  them  tha  toppling  peak  of  the 
Tryon. 

"  Thousands  of  persons  throng  this  mountain  region  during  the  summer,  to  enjoy  the  pure, 
bracing  atmosphere,  which  on  the  eastern  face  of  the  mountain  is  dry  and  healthful  ;  but 
farther  back,  in  the  mountains  of  the  French  Broad,  there  is  much  more  dampness  and 
heavy  fogs. 

"  You  may  readily  conclude  that  along  the  eastern  slopes  of  these  mountains,  the  climato 
and  country  are  finely  adapted  to  the  growth  of  wool,  as  may  also  be  seen  by  many  of  the  tina 
fl'.jcks  of  native  unimproved  sheep,  which  wander  here  untended,  regardless  of  wolve*  or 
dogs,  thevr  greatest  enemies. 

"  For  two  hundred  miles  along  the  eastern  slopes  of  these  mountains,  south,  there  aw 
situations  well  suited  for  large  flocks  of  sheep,  and  land  is  cheap.  In  many  places  it  doe* 
uot  cost  more  tlian  20  cents  per  acre,  and  very  fair  land  may  be  had  for  40  cents  per  acre.  ' 

In  an  Address,*  remarkable  for  the  force  and  pertinency  of  its  sugges- 

*  See  Albany  Cultivator.  3846,  pp.  335-330. 

t  Delivered  in  Martinsbunj,  Va.,  Oct.  30th.  1845,  before  the  Berkley  Ccranty  Agricultural  Society,  pub- 
lished in  the  Valley  Farmer,"  Dec.  1845,  and  Jan.  1846. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


tions,  Col.  Edward  Colston,  of  Berkley  county,  Virginia,  makes  the  fol- 
lowing statements  : 

"  The  western  part  of  our  county,  containing  perhaps  30,000  acres,  is  mountainous.  I 
have  ridden  there  for  ten  miles  without  seeing  a  human  habitation,  and  although  from  iti 
abundant  herbage  it  might  sustain  for  its  owners  20,000  head  of  sheep,  not  a  single  one  is  t« 
be  found  grazing  on  its  surface.  In  tlxis  region  may  be  found,  also,  much  land  fit  for  culd- 
%  ation,  with  fine  meadows  and  abundant  water.  Yet  all  this  is  worthless  to  our  community, 
and  a  dead  capital  to  the  proprietors.  There  is  territory  and  grass  enough  here  to  be  di- 
vided into  three  or  four  sheep-walks,  each  sustaining  from  3,000  to  4,000  sheep  during  the 
summer,  with  meadow  and  arable  land  enough,  at  a  small  expense,  to  provide  amply  for 
winter  sustenance." 

Hon.  Andrew  Stevenson,  of  Virginia,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Skinner,*  says  : 

'  Virginia  has  many  advantages  for  breeding  sheep,  not  surpassed  in  the  United  States 
The  middle  part  of  the  State,  and  especially  the  whole  range  of  the  south-west  Mountains 
and  Blue  Ridge,  afford. the  greatest  facilities  for  fine  sheep-walks.  Hills  covered  with  fine 
herbage,  extensive  inclosures,  abundance  of  running  water,  and  well  sheltered  by  trees 
against  the  heat  and  sun  of  summer." 

The  following  extracts  are  from  a  communication  in  the  Monthly  Jour- 
nal of  Agriculture,!  by  Hon.  W.  L.  Goggin,  who  recently  represented  the 
District  he  describes  in  Congress  : 

"  Bedford,  the  county  in  which  I  reside,  is  bounded  on  the  south  side  by  the  Stauntoii 
River,  on  the  north  by  the  James  River,  while  its  western  extremity,  the  whole  length, 

reaches  the  top  of  the  Blue  Ridge The  Peaks  of  Ottert  are  situated  in  this  county, 

on  the  north-west  corner — they  are  not  only  beautiful  themselves,  when  seen  as  they  are  in 
the  distance,  but  the  whole  range  of  the  Blue  Ridge  presents,  perhaps,  here,  the  most  inter- 
esting view  of  the  kind  in  the  State.  These  mountains  afford  an  unlimited  range  for  stock, 
and  the  advantages  for  sheep-walks  (mild  as  is  the  climate,  combined,  with  the  productive- 
ness of  the  soil)  that  are  nowhere  equaled,  as  is  believed,  except  by  similar  situations  in 

the  neighboring  counties Ranges  for  sheep  may  be  had  at  a  very  reduced  price  on 

the  mountains,  and  where,  too,  could  be  produced  all  the  grasses  in  which  they  delight,  such 
as  the  red  and  white  clover,  the  meadow  fox-tail,  short  blue  meadow-grass,  lucern,  rye-grass, 
&c.  These  advantages,  and  then  the  beautiful,  clear  streams  which  abound  in  all  the  moun- 
tain regions,  invite  a  pastoral  life."  Speaking  of  Amherst  and  Nelson  counties,  he  says : 
*  The  ranges  for  stock  here,  too,  are  extensive,  and  the  beautiful,  rich  mountain  sides  inter- 
spersed with  farm-houses,  some  of  them  even  elegant  mansions,  betoken  an  independence 
among  the  inhabitants  that  is  often  found  in  such  situations.  Many  of  the  mountains,  to 
their  very  summit?,  are  covered  with  the  richest  verdure."  Of  Madison  and  Greene  coun- 
ties he  says:  "  Here,  too,  are  abundant  ranges,  and  the  wonder  is  that  sheep  husbandly  is 
not  introduced." 

The  character  of  the  loftier  mountains  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina, 
for  the  production  of  grasses,  would  seem  to  leave  no  doubt,  in  this  par- 
ticular, in  regard  to  the  lower  ones  which  form  the  prolongation  of  the 
same  chains  in  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Alabama.  Let  us  now  turn 
our  glance  to  the  great  western  chain — the  Cumberland  Mountains — in 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee. 

The  following  extracts  are  from  a  communication  published  by  Hon.  A. 
Beatty  in  the  American  Agriculturist : 

"  But  it  is  not  upon  our  high-priced  rich  lands  alone  that  we  can  carry  on  sheep  husbandry 
to  advantage.  Kentucky  has  a  belt  of  hill  and  mountain  country,  bordering  on  the  Virginia 
line  on  the  east,  and  on  the  rich  lands  of  the  State  on  the  west,  averaging  about  seventv°five 
miles  in  width,  extending  from  the  Ohio  River  and  Big  Sandy,  latitude  38°  30',  to  the' Ten- 
nessee line,  3G°  30'  north.  The  whole  of  this  region  is  admirably  adapted  to  sheen  hus- 
bandry ;  the  most  northern  part  but  a  few  minutes  north  of  my  residence,  and  extending 
about  two  degrees  farther  south.  The  lands  are  very  cheap  :  the  State  price  of  those  not 
yet  appropriated  only  five  cents  per  acre,  and  those  purchased  second-hand,  more  or  less 
improved,  may  be  had  from  25  to  50  cents  per  acre,  and  still  less  when  unimproved.  This 
country  in  a  state  of  nature  furnishes,  during  the  spring,  summer,  and  full  months,'  a  fino 
range  for  sheep,  and  is  susceptible  of  great  improvement  by  clearing  up  and  sowing  the  cul- 
tivated grasses  for  winter  feeding.  This  whole  country  is  finely  adapted  to  the'  Spanish 

*  Monthly  Journal  of  Agriculture,  July,  1S45,  pp.  37-39.  ft    October  1845,  pp.  181-183 

J  Ine  ioluest  mountains,  as  before  stated,  of  Virginia. 


48  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


mode  of  sheep  husbandry.  Very  large  flocks  might  be  driven  to  the  mountain  region,  BOOM 
thirty  to  sixty  miles  from  the  rich  lauds,  immediately  after  shearing  time,  grazed  till  late  in 
the  fall,  and  then  brought  back  to  be  sustained  during  the  winter  on  the  luxuriant  blue 
grass  pastures  of  ths  rich  lands  of  the  interior. 

"  A  very  intelligent  friend,  residing  in  the  southern  part  of  the  above  district  of  country, 
speaks  of  it  in  the  following  terms  :  '  One  of  the  strongest  proofs  of  this  region  of  country 
being  favorable  to  the  growing  of  sheep  stock  is  that  we  are  situated  in  the  same  degree  of 
north  latitude  with  the  sheep-raising  parts  ol  Spain — Leon,  Estremadura,  Old  Castile,  &c.— 
oi:ly  that  our  mountains  are  more  richly  and  abundantly  clad  with  luxuriant  wild  grasses 
*nd  fern,  pea  vine,  and  shrubbery,  than  the  mountain  regions  of  Spain,  where  they  raise 
each  abundant  stocks  of  sheep.  Wayne  County,  with  a  few  adjoining  counties,  affords  more 
fine  water-power  than  any  country  of  the  same  extent  that  I  have  ever  known ;  and  for 
health,  and  fine,  pure  drinking  water,  no  country  excels  it  on  the  face  of  the  globe.  Now  is 
the  time  to  commence  the  business  of  sheep  husbandry,  while  land  can  be  got  almost  for 
nothing.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  our  sheep,  which  are  suffered  to  roam  and  graze  hi 
the  mountains  altogether,  produce  about  one-fourth  more  wool  at  a  shearing  than  the.  sheep 
that  are  raised  and  grazed  altogether  on  our  farms,  and  of  much  better  quality.'1  In  an- 
other part  of  his  letter  he  says  :  '  The  tops  of  the  mountains  of  Spain  are  sterile,  without 
verdure,  producing  no  food  for  sheep,  or  other  animals,  to  graze  on.  Our  mountains  are 
quite  different.  They  are  thickly  clad  from  bottom  to  top,  and  all  over  the  top,  with  fine 
rich  wild  grasses  and  shrubbery  of  every  variety,  for  stock  to  graze  on.  In  the  midst  of 
our  mountains  are  to  be  found  a  great  abundance  of  salt  water  and  stone  coal  of  the  finest 
quality,  together  with  a  great  variety  of  mineral  waters  and  pure  springs.' 

"  Another  friend,  residing  in  Knox  County,  writes  to  me :  '  My  sheep  upon  my  farm,  ad- 
joining Barboursville,  do  not  thrive,  even  with  pasture  and  winter  food,  like  the  sheep  in 
the  extremities  of  the  county,  which  have  neither  pastures  nor  winter  food,  except  what 
they  get  in  the  woods.  Without  cultivated  grasses  of  any  description,  sheep  will  live  and 
do  well  all  the  winter,  subsisting  on  the  spontaneous  growth  of  the  country.' 

"  Another  friend,  residing  in  the  northern  poition  of  the  above-described  mountain  region, 
writes  that  '  the  counties  of  Carter  and  Lawrence,  and  the  eastern  portion  of  the  State,  are 
admirably  adapted  to  sheep  husbandry.  There  are  several  flocks  ot  sheep  in  this  neighbor- 
hood that  thrive  and  increase  wonderfully,  running  at  large,  at  little  cost  or  trouble  to  their 
owners.  Many  flocks  have  no  other  reliance,  during  the  winter,  but  what  they  get  in  the 
woods.  The  great  advantages  of  this  country  for  sheep  husbandry  are,  the  cheapness  of  the 
land,  it  adaptation  to  grasses,  grain,  and  roots — its  healthfulness.  Sheep  delight  in  moun- 
tain or  hilly  land ;  the  natural  evergreens  and  shrubbery  upon  which  sheep  can  feed  and 
subsist  on  in  winter ;  though  it  is  riot  safe  to  rely  altogether  upon  these. '  " 

Mr.  C.  F.  Kramer  of  Woolverly  Farm,  Marion  Co.  Tennessee,  ia  a  com- 
munication, in  the  Nashville  Agriculturist,*  says  : 

"  After  having  spent  part  of  the  years  '43  and  '44  on  different  parts  of  the  Cumberland 
Mountains — the  part  of  Tennessee  more  particularly  recommended  by  all  writers  in  your 
journal,  and  others,  for  sheep-walks — I  have,  since  last  fall,  settled  on  a  portion  of  them 
near  Jasper,  Marion  Co.  and  will,  as  briefly  as  possible,  give  you  the  result  of  my  experi- 
ence, which  will,  I  believe,  fully  remove  any  erroneous  impressions  hitherto  made. 

"  First,  as  to  climate  :  The  extreme  salubrity  of  the  mountains  makes  them  the  general 
refuge  of  the  sick.  Sheep  here  are  remarkably  healthy,  and  exempt  from  disease.  The 
temperature  is  very  even,  varying  during  summer  seldom  more  than  from  75°  to  80°  of 
Fahrenheit,  nor  in  winter  more  than  from  45°  to  30°.  Snow  during  the  two  winters,  little 
as  there  was  of  it,  never  remained  forty-eight  hours  on  the  ground. 

"  The  forest,  so  far  from  being  dense,  seldom  contains  more  timber,  after  cutting  out  the 
smaller  growth,  as  dogwood,  &c.  than  is  desirable  for  woodland  pasture. 

"  The  rocks,  as  far  as  my  rambles  have  extended,  are  '  few  and  far  between.'  The  bet 
ter  spots  of  soil  (and  there  are  enough  to  provide  every  farm  with  sufficient  remunerating 
arable  land,  under  a  provident  and  enlightened  system  of  tillage)  are  covered  with  nutri- 
tious weeds,  as  pea-vine,  &c.  &c.  which  are  nearly  all  greedily  devoured  by  sheep  and  cat- 
tle, and  on  which  they  fare  well.  The  poorer  soil  is  covered  with  sedge-grass,  which  my 
sheep  have  invariably  eaten  with  avidity. 

"  When  our  herds  and  blue  grass  lands,  which  we  are  laying  down,  will  be  fit  for  pastnr* 
ing,  the  cost  of  wintering  will  be  greatly  reduced,  as  the  former  yields  good  grazing  in  Feb- 
ruary— the  latter  during  the  whole  winter.  Our  young  cattle  kept  in  good  condition  on  the 
winter-range  and  .two  ears  of  corn  per  head  per  day. 

"  Although  the  wolves  of  our  mountains  are  larger  than  those  of  the  prairies,  and  may  be 
more  difficult  to  exterminate  entirely,  yet,  thanks  to  our  good  hunters,  their  ranks  have  been 
already  so  thinned  that  they  mostly  prowl  about  alone,  or  at  most  in  pairs,  committing  their 
depredations  by  night,  on  the  sheep  and  hogs  that  are  left  to  shift  for  tbec&filvea.  In  \bm 

•  June,  1846. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


49 


two  years  that  I  have  been  here,  I  know  of  but  two  instances  of  their  having  attacked  younjj 

E  cattle  by  night.  By  day,  sheep  are  perfectly  safe  ;  and  I  should  presume  that  eveiy 
sheep-master  would  have  his  flocks,  for  inspection,  home  at  night,  when  any  common 
5  will  be  an  ample  safeguard  for  them." 

To  recur,  for  a  moment,  to  Mr.  Buckley's  statements  in  relation  to  the 
Roan  and  some  of  the  contiguous  mountains  in  North  Carolina — if  we 
concede  all  his  positions  to  be  correct — it  but  proves  that  they  are  excep- 
tions to  a  general  rule.  .  But  a  review  of  his  facts,  it  seems  to  me,  scarcely 
justifies  his  conclusions. 

The  vegetation  which  seemed  so  backward  to  him,  coining  from  the 
warmer  climate  of  Alabama  and  Lower  Tennessee,  was  in  fact  but  little, 
if  any,  later  than  that  of  the  elevated  grazing  lands  of  Southern  New- 
York.  The  following  table*  will  show  the  average  forwardness  of  the 
Reasons  at  the  location  of  fifty-eight  Academies,  scattered  over  New-York, 
for  a  term  of  fifteen  years.  And  these  Academies,  as  would  be  supposed, 
are  rarely  found  on  the  high  bleak  hills.  In  fact,  the  number  in  the  south- 
ern grazing  region  is  but  small,  and  they  are  mostly  on  the  low  bottoms  of 
the  larger  streams.  The  same  remark  will  also  apply  to  the  high  region 
between  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Lake  Champlain. 

TABLE  NO.  5. 


Mean  Date. 

JVo.  of  Localities. 

No.  nf  Observations 

May     1^ 

4 
6 
"        7   *. 
"      15 
Juno  12 
July  18 
"      25 
Sept.  23 
Nov.    5 

48 
57 
58 
52 
52 
59 
58 
34 
45 
57 

168 
175 
269 
264 
250 
374 
210 
127 
186 
471 
536 

Plum                do                                    . 

Strawberries  ripe                   .   .      .        

Hay  harvest  commenced         ..   ......... 

W  heat  do.            do.            

First  killm?  Frost  

First  fall  of  Snow  

*  As  the  Peach  does  not  grow  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State,  this  date  must  be  considered  the  mean 
for  the  southern  and  middle  parts  only,  and  hence  is  too  early  as  compared  with  other  trees. 

The  blossoming  of  the  apple  tree  in  the  grazing  regions  of  New-York 
takes  place  when  the  leaves  of  the  forest  trees  are  considerably  less  than 
half  grown,  as  Mr.  B.  found  them  on  the  "  high  mountain  trees  "  of  North 
Carolina  on  the  12th  of  May. 

Snow  storms  sometimes  occur  in  New- York  as  late  as  the  one  recorded 
by  Mr.  B.  on  the  Roan ;  cold,  damp  fogs  are  not  found  destructive  to 
sheep  in  some  parts  of  England  and  Scotland,  where  they  prevail  proba- 
bly quite  as  much  as  on  these  mountains  ;  and  there  are  many  parts  of  the 
grazing  region  of  New-York,  and  good  grazing  lands,  too,  where  the  in- 
habitants "  do  not  raise  corn  sufficient  for  their  own  consumption."  As 
Mr.  B.  gives  neither  the  dates  nor  the  altitudes  of  his  own  thermometrical 
observations,  no  conclusions  can  be  deduced  from  them.  Speaking  of  the 
region  about  Asheville,  the  more  definite  statement  is  made  by  him,  that 
during  the  summer  of  1842,  the  thermometer  ranged  generally  from  70  to 
85  degrees,  (which  he  pronounces  not  much,  if  any,  warmer  than  Western 
New- York,)  "while  on  the  mountains  it  was  frequently  about  60  degrees, 
and  sometimes  much  lower."  If  by  frequent,  he  meant  ordinary  temper- 
ature, the  summer  climate  of  these  lofty  mountains  much  resembles  that 
of  New- York  in  June — usually  considered  the  month  of  the  pleasaiitest 

*  This  table  was  prepared  by  James  IL  Coffin,  a  tutor  in  Williams  College,  from  the  Report  of  thesA 
facts  annually  required  to  be  made  by  the  Academies  to  the  Regents  of  the  University.  This  and  aoma 
other  tables  and  statements  of  Mr.  C.'s,  which  I  shall  have  occasion  to  quote,  appear  in  a  very  able  paper 
from  him  on  the  Climate  and  Temperature  of  New- York,  in  the  forthcoming  volume  on  Agriculture,  in 
the  Natural  History  of  the  State  :  some  sheets  of  which  have  been  politely  sent  me  by  Doct.  Ernmons,  ih« 
Pure  Geologist,  who  has  that  volume  in  charge. 

G 


50 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


temperature  of  the  year — 'equally  removed  from  the  chilliness  of  spring 
and  the  sultry  heats  of  the  last  two  summer  months.  But  as  the  altitudes 
of  the  latter  observations  are  not  given,  they  present  us  nothing  definite  or 
tangible.  A  smart  walk  of  a  few  moments  up  or  down  a  mountain  side, 
woul  1  carry  one  through  a  variation  of  temperature  amounting  to  a  degree. 
By  the  rule  of  Professor  Leslie,*  commonly  adopted,  300  feet  of  elevation 
diminishes  the  temperature  1°  ;  but  the  experiments  of  Humboldt,  Gay- 
Lu9sac,-and  various  other  observers,  have  shown  that  this  cannot  be  relied 
upon.  One  degree  is  usually  equivalent  to  a  greater  ascent.  Mr.  Coffin 
(in  the  paper  before  alluded  to)  deduces  the  conclusion  that  in  the  State 
of  New-York,  the  ascent  necessary  to  decrease  the  temperature  1°  is  350 
feet.  Taking  the  mean  of  the  range  of  temperature  of  Asheville,  as  stated 
by  Mr.  B.  it  gives  77^°  as  the  average  summer  temperature  of  that  place, 
which,  as  will  appear  in  the  table  below,  is  about  10°  higner  and  warmer 
than  that  of  New- York  for  the  same  season  and  year,  (excepting  on  the 
beds  of  two  rivers — the  Hudson  and  Mohawk.)  Applying  the  New- York 
rule  to  the  region  of  Asheville,  it  would  require,  then,  an  elevation  of  some- 
thing like  3,500  feet  on  the  mountain  sides  above  that  place,  to  equalize 
the  temperature  with  that  of  the  greater  portion  of  New- York. 

To  show  the  entire  accuracy  of  the  subjoined  table  of  temperatures,  I 
would  remark  that  it  is  founded  on  the  Annual  Reports  of  the  Academies 
to  the  Regents  of  the  University.  The  observations  are  therefore  made 
by  correct  instruments,!  on  fixed  conditions,  and  by  scientific  men.  I  have 
selected  the  points  indicated  in  reference  solely  to  a  fair  latitudinal  and 
geographical  distribution  over  the  State  ;t  and  to  enable  you  to  find  them 
on.  the  map,  the  name  of  the  place,  instead  of  the  Academy,  is  given  : 

TABLE  NO.  6. 


Lati- 
tude,. 

Ehna 
Lion. 

Temperature  1842. 

Remarks. 

June. 

July. 

Aug. 

Platbush.. 
Po'keepsie 
Albany.  .   . 
Potsdam    . 
Lowvillc  . 
Utica...  . 
Syracuse  . 
Pompey    . 
Homer.   . 
[tbaca...   . 
Prattsburg. 
Rochester. 
Wyoming-. 
Fredonia  . 
JLewiston.. 

40°73' 
41  41 
42  39 
44  40 
43  47 
43  OG 
42  59 
42  56 
42  38 
42  27 

43  08 
42  49 
42  26 
43  09 

40 

130 
394 
800 
173 

.1300 
1096 
417 
1494 
50H 
800 
345 
280 

64  28 
61  29 
65  85 
59  62 
60  51 
63  58 
59  75 
57  70 
58  88 
63  80 
56  83 
60  66 
59  97 
63  42 
62  05 

72  16 
76  83 
72  66 
67  36 
67  52 
70  15 
65  77 
64  20 
64  14 
69  65 
65  24 
66  94 
71  50 
69  60 
G8  91 

69  97 
71  56 
70  23 
67  12 
64  46 
69  15 
64  86 
63  50 
65  67 
67  74 
68  71 
67  35 
56  99 
68  71 
68  50 

Near  the  extreme  southern  point  of  Long  Island.  .. 
On  the  Hudson.     Elevation  not  given..  .  

Tn  St.  Lawrence  County  ;  north  part  of  State  

On  the  Black  River 

(  Both  in  same  county,  but  given  on  account  of  dif- 
(      ference  in  elevation  ...   . 

In  the  southern  or  grazing*  rogion     .... 

Do.                       do 

Do.                        do.               

In  tbe  heart  of  the  Wheat  growing  region  

Do.                         do. 

In  the  grazing  region;  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Erie.. 
On  Niagara  River  ! 

The  five  last  named  places  are  in  "  Western  New-York." 

But  there  is  one  fact  stated  by  Mr.  Buckley,  in  relation  to  the  lofty 
mountains  of  North  Carolina,  which,  irrespective  of  all  thermometrical 
observations,  demonstrates  conclusively,  to  my  mind,  their  adaptation  to 
sheep  husbandry.  This  fact  is,  that  white  clover  grows  (of  course,  spon- 
taneously,) on  them.  Or  perhaps  I  should  rather  say,  that  the  mountains 
themselves  become  thermometers,  their  vegetation  registering,  by  a  well 
settled  natural  law,  their  temperate  climate.  Says  Malte  Brun  : 

"  Under  the  burning  climate  of  the  torrid  zone,  we  have  only  to  ascend  the  mountains,  to 
enjoy  the  fruits  and  flowers  of  the  temperate  regions.  Tournetbrt  found  at  the  base  of  Mount 

*  Prof.  L.'s  rule,  however,  was  only  made  applicable  by  him  to  tropical  regions. 
t  Half,  probably,  of  the  thermometers  in  common  use  are  imcciirHtc  ! 

•J  For  the  records  of  temperatures  given,  see  Report  of  the  Regents,  1843,  p.  240.  For  latitudes  and  ele 
rations  of  the  Academies,  see  Report  of  1838,  pp.  212  to  215,  and  map 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  51 

Ararat  the  common  vegetables  of  Armenia;  half  way  up,  those  of  Italy  and  France;  and 
upon  the  summit  those  of  Scandinavia.  Forster  saw  several  Alpine  plants  upon  the  moun- 
tains of  Terra  del  Fuego." 

Mr.  Mudie  also  remarks  : 

"  If  we  take  each  mountain  as  the  index  of  its  own  meridian,  we  shall  find  that  each  one 
expresses,  by  its  vegetation,  all  the  varieties  of  climate  between  it  and  the  pole."* 

Humboldt,  and  our  ownDoct.  Forry,  notice  an  equally  striking  develop 
ment  of  this  law,  on  the  Western  Continent.! 

This  would  go  to  show  what  I  have  little  doubt  is  the  fact,  (my  impres- 
sions, too,  being  strengthened  by  a  comparison  of  latitude,  elevation,  and 
recorded  thermometrical  observations,)  that  on  the  sides  of  the  Roan  and 
other  lofty  mountains  of  North  Carolina,  and  pretty  well  wp  on  their  sides, 
too,  the  climate  is  not  greatly  dissimilar  from  that  on  the  high  grazing 
lands  of  New- York  and  New-England.  On  the  sweetest  and  best  of  the 
latter,  white  clover  always  comes  up  spontaneously,  and  will  immediately 
re-sward  any  field  thrown  out  of  tillage.  It  sometimes  flourishes  on  soils 
of  ordinary  fertility,  but  never  on  rery  sour  or  boggy  ones,  or  on  those 
the  poachy  character  of  which  would  render  them  liable  to  communicate 
hoof-rot  or  other  diseases.  It  indicates,  most  decidedly^  both  a  soil  and 
climate  fitted  for  sheep. 

You  will  not  understand,  Sir,  of  course,  that  in  the  remarks  made  and: 
facts  stated,  at  so  great  length,  in  relation  to  three  or  four  mountains,  my 
object  has  been  simply  to  refute  the  views  of  Mr.  Buckley  in  relation  to- 
them.  In  a  region  of  70,000  square  miles,  the  unadaptation  of  half  a 
dozen  mountains,  or  a  much  greater  number,  to  this  or  any  other  branch. 
of  husbandry,  would  be  of  but  little  comparative  importance.  Anticipat- 
ing, however,  the  croakings  of  the  timid — the  exaggerated  counter  state- 
ments of  those  rash  and  sanguine  men  who  are  ever  ready  to  rush  into 
whatever  is  ?icw,  without  judgment  to  guide  or  perseverance  to  sustain 
them  :  who  abandon  their  undertakings  at  the  first  obstacle,  arfd  apologize 
for  their  ficklety  by  magnifying  the  difficulties  encountered  by  them  :  t 
deemed  it  expedient  to  lay  before  you  some  useful  data  for  comparisons,, 
•'and  conclusions,)  which  will  be  equally  applicable  in  the  case  of  all  our 
southern  mountains. 

The  hilly  and  level  regions  west  of  the  mountains,  and  lying  between; 
them  and  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  rivers,  scarcely  require  a  separate  no- 
tice— particularly  after  the  statements  of  Mr.  Cockrill,  given  in  my  second 
letter.  As  a  whole,  they  are  undoubtedly  more  fertile,  and  better  adapted* 
to  the  production  of  the  grasses,  than  those  of  corresponding  latitude,  in* 
even  the  hilly  zone,  east  of  the  mountains. 

*  Mudie's  World. 

t  Since  making  the  extract  above  from  Malte  Bfun,  I  observe  the  following  better,  or.  at  Jerst,  more  deff- 
nite  expression  of  the  same  fact  by  Doct  Forry  :  "  In  ascending  a  lofty  mountain  of  the  torrid  zone  the 
greatest  variety  in  vegetation  is  displayed.  At  its  foot  and  under  the  burning  sun,  ananas  ind  plantain? 
flourish  :  the  regions  of  limes  and  oranges  succeeds  ;  then  follow  fields  of  maize  and  luxuriant  wheat  •  and' 
•till  higher,  th*  wr/tea  of  plants  known  in  the  temperate  zone.  The  mountains  of  temperate  unions  e*hi 
bk,  perliap*,  k>«  rariety,  but  the  change  it  equally  striking."  See  Forry'a  Climafi  of  the  Uni'  'State*. 


52  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


LETTER  V. 

FROF1TS    OF   SHEEP  HUSBANDRY   IN  THE    SOUTHERN  STATES.— I.  D1RBC7 
PROFIT  ON  CAPITAL  INVESTED. 


Different  points  of  view  in  which  the  question  of  the  profitableness  of  Sheep  Husbandry  in  the  ?outhern 
States  is" to  be  regarded.  ..Direct  profit  on  Capital  invested  first  considered.  ..Average  prices  of  Wool  in 
New- York... Average  weight  of  fleece — Price  of  Sheep— Increase  in  Lambs — Amount  of  Manure... Price 
of  Land... Number  of  Sheep  supported  per  acre. .. Estimate  of  the  Expenses  nnd  Profits  of  100  Sheep, 
taking  average  prices  of  Wool  for  the  last  fourteen  years.  ..Present  low  prices  of  Sheep — Causes — Esti- 
mate of  Profits  of  100  Sheep,  at  present  prices  of  Sheep  and  Wool.  ..Profits  far  below  what  they  might  be 
by  breeding  better  Sheep.  ..Writer's  Flock — Annual  yield  of  Wool — Prices  sold  at  for  six  years — Statistics 
of  Premium  Flock. .  .Show  that  Wool  can  be  produced  at  a  large  profit  in  New-York  at  present  prices. . . 
Healthfulness  and  economy  of  substituting  Mutton  for  a  portion  of  the  P.acon  consumed  in  the  Southern 
States... Economical  advantages  which  Sheep  possess  over  other  animals— No  risk  by  Death — Manure 
more  valuable — Best  clearers  of  Briery  Lands — Improvers  of  Vegetation.  ..The  cost  of  producing  Wool  in 
the  South,  compared  with  the  cost  in  New-York... Number  of  Sheep  which  can  be  supported  per  acre 
South— Greater  number  than  on  land  of  the  same  quality  North,  by  reason  of  the  winter  growth  of  grains 
and  grasses  in  the  former... Col.  Allston's  statement — 11.  L.  Allen's — Col.  Hampton's— Hon.  R.  F.  Simp- 
son's in  relation  to  the  Atlantic  States  south  of  Virginia.  ..Price  of  Lands  in  those  States.  ..Winter  Vege- 
tation in  Tennessee, Kentucky  and  Virginia. .  .Mr.  Coles's  statement — John  S.  Skinner's. .  .Recapitulation. .. 
Estimate  of  Profits  on  100  Sheep  South— Compared  with  New-York.  ..Profits  on  the  Southern  Mquntaina 
...Doct.  Brockenboro's  statements — Mr.  Murdock's.  ..Economy  of  Migratory  Sheep  Husbandry.  ..Advan- 
tages for  it  in  the  South  compared  with  those  of  Spain.  ..Drawbacks  on  Profits  of  Sheep  Husbandry — 
Dogs  and  Wolves..  -Their  depredations  compared  with  those  in  Australia  and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. .. 
Remedy. 


Dear  Sir:  In  ascertaining  the  Profits  of  Sheep  Husbandry  in  the 
Southern  States,  several  considerations  present  themselves,  apart  from  the 
mere  question  of  direct  annual  profit  or  loss  on  a  given  investment  in 
Sheep  and  in  land  for  their  subsistence.  The  more  immediate  and  obvious 
profit  is  doubtless  the  first  question  ;  but  in  regarding  the  general  advan- 
tages or  disadvantages  of  this  branch  of  husbandly — particularly  in  a  re- 
gion circumstanced  in  all  particulars  as  the  Southern  States  are — we  are 
farther  to  consider  the  practicability  and  comparative  economy  of  making  it 
the  basis  of  an  effectual  amelioration  in  soils  naturally  sterile,  or  those 
which  have  been  rendered  so  by  excessive  and  injudicious  cultivation ; 
and  its  comparative  efficacy  in  giving  to  Southern  Agriculture  a  mixed 
and  convertible  character,  and  thereby  sustaining  (or  improving)  all  the 
present  good  tillage  lands,  in  the  place  of  continuing  the  "  new  and  old 
field  "  system— (tilling  land  until  it  is  worn  out,  then  abandoning  it  and 
opening  new  lands,) — once  so  general,  and  even  now  by  far  too  prevalent. 
And  there  is  another  point  of  no  mean  importance  :  whether,  independent 
of  preceding  considerations,  and  even  if  the  staples  furnished  by  sheep 
(husbandry  proved  no  more  profitable,  in  direct  returns  on  capital  invested, 
than  some  of  the  present  staples,  it  would  not  be  better  economy,  on  the 
-whole,  for  the  South  to  produce  the  raw  material  and  manufacture  domes- 
tic woolens,  particularly  for  the  apparel  and  bedding  of  slaves,  than  to  be 
dependent  for  them  on  England  or  Massachusetts. 

To  ascertain  the  direct  and  immediate  profit  on  investment  in  sheep  hus- 
bandry, let  us  appeal  to  well  settled  facts  and  statistics,  instead  of  content- 
ing ourselves  with  vague  and  general  propositions.  For  the  following 
Table  of  the  average  prices  of  good  wool*  in  the  State  of  New- York,  which 
was  published  in  my  replies  to  Mr.  Walker's  "Treasury  Circular"  in 

*  Such  wools  as  are  used  fcr  the  manufacture  of  broad  and  other  cloth?  of  good  quality— ranging,  say. 
from  5th  hlood  Merino  to  pure  Saxon — excluding  native,  grade  (below  $th  Merino)  and  alt  English  wool*. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  53 


1845,*  I  was  indebted  to  a  most  respectable  and  extensive  purchaser  of 
wool,  and  its  accuracy  is  beyond  question. 


TABLE  No.  7. 


Year 

Avtrage  price  per  pound. 

Year. 

Average  price  perpouni. 

1882 

40  cents. 

1839  

1833 

50     do. 

1840  

33     do 

1834 

45    do 

1841 

35    do 

18/5 

.48     do. 

1842  

30    do 

1836 

.   54    do. 

1843... 

...-,,.  71    do 

1837 

30    do 

1844 

40    do 

1838  

36     do. 

1845.... 

32*   do. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  for  a  period  of  fourteen  years  preceding  1845, 
the  average  price  of  good  wools  was  39y  cents  per  pound.t 

The  average  weight  of  fleece  in  sheep  yielding  this  wool  has  been  about 
3  Ibs. ;  the  pure-blood  Saxons  less  ;  but  those  -bearing  the  coarsest  wool 
included,  in  the  average,  more. 

The  average  price  of  sheep  of  the  quality  under  consideration,  has  been 
not  less  than  $2  per  head  in  the  fall,  and  lambs  half  that  price.J  The  an- 
nual increase  in  lambs  would  be  about  80  per  cent.,  or  if  less  by  reason  of 
the  number  of  wethers  in  the  nock,  the  growth  of  the  latter  would  give  n, 
corresponding  increase  in  profit.  One  hundred  sheep,  properly  littered, 
will  make  at  least  forty  loads  of  manure  during  the  one  hundred  and  fifty 
days  during  which  they  are  confined  to  dry  feed,  in  our  Northern 
winters. 

The  grazing  lands  of  New-York,  cut  up  as  they  are  into  small  farms,[| 
and  each  being  provided  with  dwelling  and  farm  buildings,  are  worth 
from  $15  to  $30  per  acre.  Prime  sheep  lands  will  average  about  $20.§ 

In  relation  to  the  amount  of  land  necessary  to  support  a  given  number 
of  sheep,  the  experience  of  a  good  many  years  has  satisfied  me  that  the 
rule  commonly  laid  down  on  the  grazing  lands  of  New- York  and  New- 
England,  that,  on  the  average,  one  acre  of  land  will  give  subsistence  to 
three  fine-wooled  sheep  throughout  the  year,  is  an  accurate  one.lj  On 
grain  farms,  it  is  considered  good  economy  to  keep  one  sheep  for  every 
acre  of  cleared  land  which  the  farm  contains  ;  on  those  where  mixed 
husbandry  is  practiced,  two  ;  and,  on  those  exclusively  devoted  to  sheep, 
three. 

In  the  following,  and  all  similar  estimates,  I  shall  reckon  the  profits  on 
the  land  and  expenditures,  instead  of  the  land  and  the  commonly  nuotcd 
nriccs  of  grass,  hay,  &c.,  consumed.  These  prices,  in  the  interior,  are 

*  See  Report,  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  1845,  p.  461.  I  thought,  and  so  stnted  to  Mr.  Walker,  that 
the  Table  placed  wools  about  H  cents  per  pound  too  high.  But  subsequent  information  has  convinced  me 
that  1  was  in  error.  In  my  statement  of  the  average  profits  of  sheep  husbandry,  in  those  replies,  I  estima- 
ted the  average  price  of  wool  by  the  prides  paid  by  a  local  and  much  smaller  purchaser,  and  for  a  com- 
paratively limited  term  of  years.  1  was  not  then  aware  of  the  utter  defectivencss  of  the  U.  S.  Census  re- 
turns (pointed  out  in  Letter  II.)  in  relation  to  the  annual  product  of  wool,  and  therefore  was  misled  in  the 
average  weight  of  fleeces  ;  and,  speaking  from  impression  rather  than  experiment,  1  placed  the  value  of 
the  manure  altogether  too  low.  Those  questions  and  replies  have  led  me  into  experiments  and  inquiries, 
which  have  resulted  in  more  accurate  information.  I  allude  to  this  subject,  because  I  think  it  every  man's 
fluty  to  correct  any  errors  or  explain  any  discrepancies  subsequently  discovers'?-  by  him,  in  his  statement* 
which  have  been  thrown  before  the  public,  and  thus  are  placed  in  a  position  to  mislead. 

t  During  1846  it  was  from  30  to  32  cents  per  pound,  but  as  this  estimate  is  not  based  on  extensive  pur- 
chases, like  the  preceding,  I  have  not  placed  it  in  the  table. 

J  Including  grade  sheep,  which  form  the  greatest  proportion  of  the  whole  number.  There  have  been 
rery  few  pure-blood  Merinos  in  the  State,  and  many  of  the  Saxon  flocks  have  been  so  miserably  deterio- 
rated in  carcass  and  weight  of  fleece,  that  they  have  sold  for  low  prices.  But  good  Saxons  sold  much 
nbove  this  until  within  three  or  four  years ;  since  then,  the  Merinos  have  been  rapidly  driving  out  th« 
Saxons,  and  those  of  good  quality  and  undoubted  pedigree  have  sold  for  from  five  to  twenty-five  times  as 
much.  The  higher  the  price,  the  greater  the  profits,  by  reason  of  the  value  of  the  increase. 

||  It  would  be  my  impression  that  the  farms  in  the  grazing  regions  do  not,  on  the  average,  exceed  138 
acres  each. 

§  Id  est,  in  the  grazing  region. 

TT !  say  "  fine-wooled  sheep,"  because  the  larger  and  coarser  Downs,  Leicesters,  Cotsw  jlde,  &c.  consume 
much  more,  ae  will  hereafter  be  shown. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


merely  nominal,  as  they  cannot  be  obtained  for  beyond  a  small  portion  of 
the  annual  crop.  They  do  not,  therefore,  form  a  proper  basis  for  correct 
general  estimates. 

The  expenses  and  losses  in  keeping  sheep,  not  already  alluded  to,  are 
all  set  down  below,  as  high  as  they  will  average  on  well  managed  farms. 


/>r.  $  cts. 

100  Sheep  to  interest  on  purchase  money....  14  00 

To  int.  on  33i  acres  of  land  at  $20  per  acre 4'!  M> 

"  curing  and  storing  luiy  on  il  acres  of  above. 13  75 

"  expense  of  shearing 4  00 

"  salt,  tar  and  summer  care 4  00 

"  labor  of  foddering,  &.c.,  during  winter,  say.  5  00 
"  loss  by  death  2  per  cent,  above  the  value  of 

pulled  wool ' 4  00 

Total $9T4i 


Cr. 


By  ;JOO  Ibs.  of  Wool,  at  39  4-7  cts  per  lb.ll*  7  L  3-7 

•'  80  lambs  at  SI  per  head 80  00 

"  40  2-horse  loads  of  winter  manure  at 

50  cents  per  load 20  00 

"  summer  manure,  calling  it  only  equal 

to  shearing  and  summer  care* 8  00 

Total...  ...$-««  7K^7 


Balance $135  30  3-7 


Making  the  net  profit  of  $4  05,  or  20^  per  cent,  per  acre  on  lands 
worth  $20. 

Since  the  passage  of  the  Tariff  of  1846,  there  has  evidently  been  a  panic 
among  the  wool-growers  of  New- York,  and  the  rise  in  bread-stuffs,  beef, 
pork,  and  dairy  products,  occasioned  by  the  change  in  the  British  Tariff, 
and  the  famine  which  has  prevailed  in  Europe  by  reason  of  the  short  crops 
of  1846,  has  tended  farther  to  depreciate  sheep,  by  offering  inducements 
supposed  to  be  very  strong,  to  embark  in  branches  of  husbandry  furnish- 
ing the  former  staples.!  Sheep  are  consequently  cheaper  than  they  ever 
were  before.  Prime  grade  sheep,  bearing  wool  of  as  good  quality  as  the 
average  of  that  embraced  in  Table  7,  have  in  some  instances  sold  for  ten 
shillings  per  head,  and  coarse  common  sheep  for  one  dollar — lambs  half  a 
dollar — making,  in  the  ordinary  proportion  between  lambs  and  grown 
sheep,  about  75  cents  per  head,  taking  a  flock  through  ! 

Wool  of  the  quality  embraced  in  Table  7  has  fallen  to  an  average  of  say 
31  cents.  Under  the  impression  that  sheep  and  wool  have  reached  their 
minimum  prices,  |  it  becomes  an  interesting  subject  of  inquiry  whether 
they  can  yet  be  produced,  at  a  profit,  in  New- York.  The  following  figures 
I.  think,  will  fairly  show  : 


Dr.                                     $   r.ts. 

<>.                                            $  rt*. 

lOOdheep  to  interest  on  purchase  money,  at 
$1  25  per  head  8  75 

By  :k>0  Ibs  of  Wool,  at  3L  cents  per  pound..  .93  00 
"  80  lambs,  at  6'^  cents  per  head  50  00 
"  40  2-horse  loads  of  winter  manure,  at  50 
cents  per  load  '2000 

To  int.  on  33$  acres  of  land  at  820  per  acre.  .46  66 
44  .  cutting,  curing  and  storing  hay  on  11  acres 

"  summer  manure,  calling  it  only  equal  to 

"  expense  of  shearing  4  00 

"  tar,  salt  nnd  summer  care  4  00 

"  labor  of  foddering.  &c.  during  winter,  say.  5  00 
*  loss  by  death  2  per  ct.  above  the  value  of 
pulled  wool  2  50 

Balance  f  86  34 

Total  $84  66 

Making  $2  59,  or  nearly  13  per  cent,  net  profit  per  acre  on  lands  worth  820. 

In  the  preceding  estimates  I  have  only  regarded  the  profit  of  sheep  hus- 
bandry, as  it  has  averaged  for  a  series  of  years,  among  those  possessing 
good  ordinary  flocks. 

*  I  place  the  summer  manure,  undoubtedly,  considerably  below  its  actual  value.  No  experienced  farmer 
Will  say  that  good  solid  sheep  manure  is  worth  less  than  50  cents  per  load,  and  as  the  summer  manure  j« 
at.  least  equal  in  quantity,  and  is  deposited  immediately  on  the  land,  I  see  no  reason  why  it  is  not  equallj 
valuable. 

t  That  the  diminution  of  English  duties  on  these  staples  will  give  them  a  better  and  steadier  market,  there 
e»n  be  little  doubt ;  but  not  the  very  high  one  of  the  past  season,  occasioned  by  the  severe  famine  which 
has  prevailed  in  many  parts  of  Great  Britain.  Many,  therefore,  who  have  sacrificed  their  sheep,  reckoning 
on  such  prices,  will  probably  find  that  they  have  "reckoned  without  their  host." 

I  I  say  this  under  the  decided  impression  that  our  wools,  at  this  price,  if  properly  washed  and  put  up, 
would  triumphantly  compete  in  the  foreign  markets  with  those  of  the  wool-growing  nations  of  Europe; 
*nd  even  with  those  of  Australia,  the  Cnpe  of  Good  Hope,  and  other  Austro-orjental  regions.  For  a  more 
lull  examination  of  this  point,  see  Appendix  D 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  55 


It  falls  far  short  of  that  realized  by  breeders  and  flock-masters,  who 
started  their  flocks  with  the  best  pure-blood  sheep  then  to  be  found  in  the 
country  ;  and  who  have  subsequently  continued  to  improve  them  by  great 
care  in  breeding",  and  by  a  rigorous  course  of  selection. 

I  have  bred  Merino  sheep  for  a  number  of  years,  and  latterly  in  consid- 
erable numbers  :  and  in  no  case  have  my.  grown  sheep  averaged  less  than 
5  Ibs.  of  well  washed  wool  per  annum.  The  quality  of  the  wool  may  be 
inferred  from  a  comparison  of  the  prices  at  which  it  has  sold,  with  those  in 
Table  7.  In  1846,  I  sold  for  35  cents  per  pound  ;  in  1845,  for  331  cents  ; 
in  1844,  for  48  cents  ;  in  1843,  for  33  J  cents  ;  in  1842,  for  35  cents,  and 
KO  on. 

To  give  more  precise  data,  I  select  the  following  statement  of  the  pro- 
ducts of  a  flock,  on  which  I  drew  the  first  premium  offered  by  the  New- 
York  State  Agricultural  Society  for  "  the  best  managed  flock  of  sheep," 
in  1844 : 

I  From  the  Transactions  of  the  N.  V.  State  Agricultural  Society,  1844,  p.  254.] 

••  In  the  winter  of  1843-4,  I  wintered  in  a  separate  flock  fifty-one  ewes  over  one  year 
old,  two  ewe  lambs,  two  rams,  one  of  them  one  and  one  of  them  two  years  old.  Of  the  ewee 
over  one  year  old,  twenty-eight  were  full-blood  Merinos  ;  twenty-three  were  half-blood  Me- 
rinos and  hall-blood  South-Downs ;  the  two  ewe  lambs  were  three-fourth-blood  Merino  and 
one-fourth-blood  South-Down :  and  the  two  rams  were  full-blood  Merinos.  The  flock  were 
kept  as  follows  through  the  winter:  They  were  fed  hay  morning  and  night,  and  were,  as  a 
general  rale,  recpi>red  to  eat  it  up  clean.  At  noon  the  flock  were  daily  led  three  bundles  of 
oats  and  barley  (which  had  grown  mixed,  say  three  parts  oats  and  one  part* barley,)  until 
the  25th  of  December — after  which  they  recei\red  four  bundles  of  oats.  The  grain  was 
light  and  shrunken.  They  received  no  hay  at  noon  during  the  winter,  and  usually  consumed 
all  the  straw  of  the  grain  fed  them.  They  had  a  good  shelter,  and  access  to  pure  water  at 
all  limes.  From  this  flock  I  raised  fifty-three  lambs.  The  full-blood  Merinos,  including 
two  rains,  and  the  two  three-fourth-blood  lambs,  (in  all 'thirty -two,)  sheared  one  hundred 
and  eighty-six  pounds  and  four  ounces  of  washed  wool,  which  I  sold  at  forty-eight  cents  per 
pound.  Four  of  the  full-bloods  had  two  years'  fleeces  on.  The  hall-blood  Merinos  and 
half-blood  South-Downs  (twenty-three)  sheared  eighty  and  one-half  pounds  of  washed  wool, 
seventy-one  pounds  of  which  I  sold  at  thirty-eight  cents  per  pound.  During  the  summer  of 
1844,  the  flock  were  kept  in  good  ordinary  pasture,  and  salted  once  a  week." 

Thus,  the  Merino  fleeces  averaged  5  Ibs.  13-jL  oz.  and  sold  for  $2  79|  each ; 
and  the  grades  between  Merino  and  South-Down  averaged  3  Ibs.  8  oz.  to 
the  fleece,  and  sold  for  $1  33  each. 

It  will  be  observed  that  four  of  the  full-bloods  (they  were  ewes)  had 
two  years'  fleeces  on.  A  two  years'  fleece  will  not  weigh  as  much  as  two 
single  years'  fleeces  from  the  same  sheep.  On  the  average,  it  will  weigh 
about  three-quarters  as  much.*  On  the  other  hand,  the  lot  included  two 
three-quarter-blood  lamb  fleeces,  which  would  fall  below  the  average 
weight  of  the  others,  and  a  portion  of  the  flock  were  yearlings  and  two- 
year  olds.  The  Merino  never  attains  its  maximum  weight  of  fleece  before 
three  years  old,  and  ordinarily  not  until  four,  and  therefore  the  aggregate 
weight  of  wool  of  the  32  sheep,  given  above,  does  not,  to  say  the  least  of 
it,  give  too  favorable  a  view  of  the  product  of  sheep  of  this  quality.  Thi* 
is  proved  by  the  fact  that  my  entire  flock  of  full-bloods  sheared  abouf 
three-twentieths  of  an  ounce  over  six  pounds  each,  the  succeeding  year. 

It  would  give  me  great  pleasure  to  subjoin  similar  statistics  of  other 
carefully  bred  flocks,  were  authorized  statements  of  them  in  my  posses- 
sion, or  published  within  my  knowledge. 

It  is  sufficiently  apparent  from  the  above  facts  and  estimates,  that  woo. 
has  not  yet  reached  the  lowest  point  at  which  it  can  be  produced  at  an 
ample  profit,  on  lands  of  the  value  indicated,  iftlie  sheep  are  of  the  froper 

*  That  is  to  Bay  /  the  ehsrfe  years'  fleeces  would  equal  6  Ibs.  each,  a  two  years'  fleeco,  instend  of  weigii- 
fag  twice  as  much,  or  12  IbsJ  will  not  exceed  three-quarters  of  such  aggregate  weight,  or  9  Iba.  The  wool 
wastes  when  it  becomes  so  long,  and  perhaps  does  not  grow  so  rapidly. 


56  SHEEP    IIU.SBANDKV    IN  THK    SOUTH. 


quality  ;  and  these  facts  farther  suggest  the  expediency  of  relyir^  on  out 
Own  efforts  to  "  protect "  this  interest,  rather  than  the  fickle  support  of 
National  legislation. 

For  the  production  of  a  cheap,  wholesome,  and  highly  nutritious  food, 
no  animal  excels  the  sheep.  Theoretical  considerations,  as  well  as  exper- 
iment, show  the  superiority  of  mutton  to  pork  in  the  formation  of  vigor- 
ous muscle  ;*  and  its  tendency  is  less,  particularly  in  hot  climates,  to  en- 
gender inflammatory  and  putrid  diseases.  The  consumption  of  consider- 
able quantities  of  fat  is  indispensable,  in  cold  climates,  to  supply  the 
necessary  amount  of  carbon  to  support  "  combustion,"  as  Lieb'ig  terms  it, 
fii  the  lungs,  or,  in  other  words,  to  maintain  the  animal  heat.  Hence  the 
Laplander  and  the  Esquimaux  find  a  grateful  diet  in  train-oil,  or  the  adi- 
pose parts  of  Arctic  fish  and  mammalia.  That  fat  pork  should  be  the 
favorite  meat,  in  the  Northern  States,  is  not  perhaps  so  singular,  but  that 
it  (under  the  name  of  bacon)  should  constitute  the  principal  one  consumed 
in  our  warm  Southern  latitudes,  and  especially  that  it  should  constitute  so 
large  a  proportion  of  all  the  food  consumed,!  is  indeed  a  most  anomalous 
fact,  and  is' utterly  unparalleled  among  the  practices  of  other  nations  occu- 
pying the  same  latitudes.  The  tendency  of  this  practice  to  produce  dis- 
ease, physical  inertia,  indisposition  and  incapacity  to  sustain  continued 
activity,  will  not,  I  think,  be  questioned  by  the  pathologist  or  the  close 
observer. 

Mutton  and  lamb  are  a  favorite,  if  not  the  favorite  food  of  the  English 
of  all  classes.  Notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  said  and  written  of  the 
"  roast  beef"  of  "  Old  England,"  mutton  is  more  eaten  there  by  people  of 
every  rank.f  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  evidently  not  a  favorite  meat  in  the 
United  States,  though  its  proportionable  consumption  is  evidently  increas- 
ing. Whence  the  difference  1  Circumstances  have  led  to  habit,  and  habit, 
in  a  great  measure,  regulates  appetite.  It  needs  no  other  proof  than  is 
to  be  found  in  the  experience  of  every  individual,  to  show  that  the  appe 
tite  is  readily  trained  to  relish  what  was  even  positively  disgusting,  and  to 
become  indifferent  to  what  was  once  the  most  grateful. 

That  the  preceding  facts  are  well  worthy  of  attention  among  those  who 
are  favorable  to  the  introduction  of  sheep  husbandry,  among  planters  who 
supply  not  less  than  3  Ibs.  per  week  of  good  bacon,  or  a  full  equivalent,  to 
euch  slave,  on  plantations  where  the  number  ranges  from  ten  to  one  hun- 
dred, and  sometimes  many  more,  there  can  be  little  doubt.  Twenty-five 
slaves  would  thus  consume  3,900  Ibs.  of  bacon  per  annum ;  and  the  more 
common  allowance  of  the  opulent  planter  is  about  200  Ibs.  per  head,  or 
5,000  Ibs.  for  twenty-five.  If  an  equivalent  for  at  least  half  of  this  was 


*  The  theoretical  considerations  will  be  found  sufficiently  discussed  in  Liebig's  "  Animal  Chemistry."  Fot 
experimental  evidence,  I  know  of  none  that  can  be  more  depended  on— which  approaches  any  nearer 
wctnal  demonstration — than  that  which  is  furnished  by  the  English  prize-fighters.  To  attain  the  proper  con- 
dition to  sustain  the  protracted  and  tremendous  exertions  of  their  brutal  trade,  their  flesh  must  attain  the 
hardness  and  toughness  of  whipcord,  and  they  must,  at  the  same  time,  maintain  that  physical  elasticity 
(technically,  "corkiness,")  which  adds  agility  to  iron  strength.  These  men,  while  training,  are  snft'ered  to 
eat  little  or  no  adipose  matter,  and  not  even  the  lean  of  pork.  Their  animal  food  is  exclusively  beef  or 
mutton,  or  both.  Some  trainers  prefer  the  former,  some  the  latter.  I  have  seen  this  matter  very  fully  al- 
i'jtled  to,  but  do  not  now  remember  any  more  explicit  authority  than  that  contained  in  the  following  note 
to  Carpenter's  Principles  of  Human  Physiology,  (p.  357.) 

"  The  method  of  training  employed  by  Jackson,  (a  celebrated  trainer  of  prize-fighters  in  modern  times,) 
ia  deduced  from  his  answers  to  questions  put  to  him  by  John  Bell,  was  to  begin  on  a  clear  foundation  by 
•n  emetic  and  two  or  three  purges.  Beef  and  mutton,  the  lean  of  fat  meat  being  preferred,  constituted  the 
principal  food ;  veal,  lamb  and  pork  were  said  to  be  less  digestible  ('the  last  purges  home  men').  Fish 
was  said  to  be  a  '  watery  kind  of  diet ;'  and  is  employed  by  jockeys  who  wish  to  reduce  weight  by  sweat' 

?  I  mean  this  portion  of  the  remark  to  apply  more  particularly  to  the  non-laboring  classes.  The  propor- 
tion consumed  by  the  slave,  though  ample,  is  not  excessive,  when  his  laboring  habits  are  taken  into  con 
•iteration 

f  I  state  this  on  the  authority  of  various  individuals  who  have  been  much  in  England,  and  who  have 
heen  placed  in  positions  to  form  a  pretty  accurate  opinion.  Mr.  Col  man  speaks  of  the  "extraordinary* 
consumption  of  mutton  in  England,  without,  however,  giving  any  comparative  data. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  57 

made  in  mutton,  it  would  be  far  cheaper,  and,  if  I  have  not  erred  in  previ- 
ous statements,  better  for  the  slave. 

There  are  two  or  three  other  highly  favorable  considerations  to  oe  taken 
into  account  among  the  direct  profits  of  rearing  sheep. 

The  risk  by  death,  by  ordinary  causes,  is  nothing.  Two  per  cent,  is  al- 
lowed in  the  preceding  estimates,  as  the  full  product  of  wool  and  increase 
is  earned  out.  But,  in  reality,  the  sheep  never  dies  "  insolvent."  If  the 
colt  or  the  bullock  dies  on  our  hands,  after  two  or  three  years  of  trouble 
and  expense  with  it,  the  loss  is  nearly  a  total  one.  If  the  fine-wooled 
sheep  dies  at  any  age,  the  wool  then  on  it,  or  what  it  has  already  produced, 
more  than  covers  all  the  cost  which  it  has  ever  made  us.* 

Not  only  is  the  winter  manure  of  the  sheep  superior  to  that  of  any  other 
domestic  animal,  the  hog  and  fowl  excepted,  but  it  practically  becomes 
still  more  so  in  proportion,  in  summer,  when  scattered  over  the  pastures, 
by  reason  of  the  conditions  in  which  it  is  deposited.  The  soft  porous  ex- 
crements of  the  cowf  or  horse,  exposed  to  the  exsiccating  action  of  sun  and 
wind,  evolve  most  of  their  fertilizing  properties  into  the  atmosphere,  and 
this  effect  would  increase  in  proportion  to  the  warmth  of  the  climate.  The 
excrements  of  the  sheep,  on  the  other  hand,  are  deposited  in  small,  hard, 
rounded  pellets,  which  fall  down  between  the  leaves  of  the  grass,  and  arc- 
thus  in  a  great  measure  protected  from  the  sun  and  wind,  until  they  are 
trodden  into  and  incorporated  with  the  soil.J  Then,  again,  they  need  no 
spreading,)!  like  the  dung  of  the  horse  and  cow.  And  finally,  instinct,  in 
leading  the  sheep  almost  invariably  to  seek  the  summits  of  the  elevations, 
in  warm  weather,  for  its  night  quarters,  leads  it  to  deposit  much  more  ma- 
nure in  proportion,  where  it  is  most  needed,  on  the  drier  and  more  barren 
hill-tops ;  and  where,  being  more  remote  from  water-courses,  less  of  its 
juices  are  liable  to  be  washed  away  by  rains,  into  the  streams,  or  on  to  the 
lands  of  others. 

Sheep  are  also  far  more  efficient  than  any  other  animal  (if  we  except 
the  worthless  goat)  in  clearing  up  new  lands,  or  neglected  old  ones,  ol 
those  briers  and  shrubs  which  it  is  often  difficult  to  eradicate  without  plow 
ing;  and  they  often  abound  on  lands  which  cannot  be  plowed  with  profit. 
And,  when  plowed,  the  shrubs  in.  the  fence  corners  must  be  left  (to  the 
utter  shame  of  all  good  husbandry),  or  the  fence  must  be  removed-^— some- 
times  at  a  great  inconvenience.  The  sheep  delights  to  browse  on  the  buds, 
and  to  strip  the  bark  of  most  shrubs, §  and  they  thus  soon  destroy  them.  It 
would  be  good  economy  for  the  farmer  to  keep  his  neighbors'  sheep,  with- 
out charge,  on  all  very  briery  or  coppiced  unarable  lands,  if  he  could  not 
«o  stock  them  himself. 

Finally,  it  is  generally  believed  by  experienced  flock-masters — and  ob- 
servation has  led  me  to  fully  coincide  in  the  opinion — that  sheep  not  onlv 
improve  the  lands  they  depasture  more  than  any  other  animal,  but  that 
they  exert  an  almost  specific  influence  in  improving  tlic  character  of  tft, 
vegetation.  All  wild,  poor  grasses  gradually  disappear  from  their  pastures 

*  I  speak,  of  course,  of  the  cost  of  rearing  and  feeding. 

t  Gaxzeri  found  that  100  parts  of  recent  cow-dung  contain  25  per  cent,  of  dry,  solid  matter,  and  that  5  pp» 
eea'c.  of  this  is  lost  in  40  days  by  exposure  to  the  air.  I  do  not  think  this  indicateu  the  full  loss  which  woulc 
be  sustained  in  a  southern  latitude. 

I  These  rounded  pellets  are  covered,  too,  in  the  animal  in  good  condition,  with  a  coating  of  mucus,  which 
ferther  protects  them  from  evaporation. 

||  Their  urine,  also,  is  voided  in  quantities  which  render  it  highly  beneficial ;  while  that  of  the  horse  and 
eo*  is  voided  in  such  large  quantities  in  one  place  that  it  is  not  only  in  a  great  measure  wasted,  but  in  a 
Jry  dme  (so  that  it  is  not  diluted  by  the  moisture  in  the  soil),  its  rich  salts,  so  far  from  benefiting,  actually 
kill  the  verdure. 

§  This  is  particularly  true  of  the  blackberry  or  bramble  (Ri/brus  villostts),  and  the  raspberry  (Rubut 
idneus),  -)ften  great  pests  on  new  or  neglected  lands  at  the  North.  Sheep  can  even  be  made  to  attack  the 
elder  (Sambucus  canadtnsis  var.  pubescent),  and  various  other  troublesome  intruders,  by  turning  them  upo» 
them  in  thawing  "  spells,"  in  the  winter,  after  they  have  been  for  gome  time  confined  to  dry  feed. 

H 


58  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


and  are  succeeded  by  the  best  ones ;  and  the  sward  becomes  remarkably 
dense  and  even.  This  is  probably  due  to  the  richness  and  better  distribu- 
tion of  their  dung  and  urine. 

If  upward  of  twenty  per  cent,  profits,  over  and  above  all  expenditures, 
have  been  and  still  can  be  made,  on  lands  worth  $20  per  acre,  by  wool- 
growing — on  lands,  too,  where  the  reign  of  an  iron  winter  confines  sheep 
to  dry  feed  at  least  five  months  of  the  year — how  are  we  to  estimate  those 
profits  on  lands  costing  but  a  small  part  of  this  sum,  which,  though  inferior 
to  the  former,  will,  by  reason  of  the  shortness  and  mildness  of  the  winter 
support  about  an  equal  number  of  sheep  per  acre,  and  also  save  the  ex- 
pense of  preparing  dry  feed,  of  foddering,  and  a  large  proportion  of  thai 
laid  out  in  barns,  shelters,  &c.  1 

It  will  be  seen  that,  by  assuming  the  data  of  the  last  of  the  two  preced 
ing  estimates  (with  the  exception  of  the  loss  by  death),  the  gross  cost  ol 
producing  300  Ibs.  of  wool,  on  the  grazing  lands  of  New- York,  is  $82  16, 
or  27^|  cts.  per  pound.  This  is  undoubtedly  as  low  as  it  can  be  produced 
where  the  fleeces  do  not  exceed  the  average  weight  of  3  Ibs.  Let  us  now 
proceed  to  inquire  what  would  be  the  gross  expense  per  pound  in  the 
Southern  States. 

You  inform  me  that  "  one  or  two — not  more — "  sheep  find  subsistence 
during  the  summer  on  the  natural  pastures  of  the  tide-water  zone  in  South 
Carolina.*  The  broad-tailed,  and  other  large  breeds,  now  mainly  fed 
there,  consume  nearly  double  the  amount  of  feed  required  by  the  fine- 
wooled  sheep.  But,  to  make  our  estimate  perfectly  a  safe  one,  we  wilJ 
assume  that  two  fine-wooled  sheep  only  will  consume  the  summer  herbage 
of  an  acre.  Fields  of  rye  sown  in  September  or  October,  you  farther  in- 
form me,  will  support  "  two  sheep  and  their  lambs"  per  acre,  "  from  the 
20th  of  December  to  the  10th  of  March."  Numerically,  then,  here  you 
have  the  same  stocking  that  is  borne  by  the  lands  of  Ndw-York,  viz.  three 
sheep  per  acre.  And,  making  the  allowance  already  alluded  to  for  the 
different  consumption  of  breeds,  an  acre  would  sustain  three  full-grows 
Merino  sheep.  As  the  rye  subsequently  yields  its  crop,  the  wool  is  not 
chargeable  with  the  expense  of  its  tillage. 

Rye  will  continue  to  grow  in  the  winter  on  all  lands  not  too  sterile,  01 
too  elevated,  south  of  latitude  36°,  and,  in  favorable  situations,  at  least 
two  degrees  farther  north.  Grass,  and  some  other  hardy  esculents,  also 
maintain  a  winter  vegetation  in  many  portions  of  the  whole  of  this  re- 
gton.f 

R.  L.  Allen,  Esq.,  after  a  recent  visit  to  the  plantation  of  Col.  Wade 
Hampton,  near  Columbia,  S.  C.,  thus  speaks  of  the  winter  verdure  in  that 
region : 

"  Though  everything  like  grass  or  weeds  is  rigidly  excluded  in  the  early  stages  of  the 
srops,  yet,  as  these  approach  maturity,  the  thick  netting  of  crab  and  various  other  grasse* 
and  plants,  which  are  ever  struggling  tor  existence  in  this  warm  clime,  are  allowed  to  como 
forward  and  mature ;  and  their  growth  furnishes  forage  for  cattle  and  sheep  during  the  win- 
ter, and  an  important  addition  to  the  vegetable  manures  for  turning  inider  and  adding  to  the 
fertility  of  the  soil.  .  .  .  The  sheep,  together  with  the  cattle,  mules  and  horses,  which 
are  not  at  work,  are  turned  into  the  natural  pastures  in  summer,  and,  in  addition  to  these, 
they  have  the  run  of  the  corn-fields  in  winter,  and  without  seeing  any  other  shelter  against 
the  severest  storms  than  a  thicket  or  hill -side,  they  thrive  and  fatten  throughout  the  year. — 
This  condition  is  secured  by  the  mildness  of  the  climate,  and  the  consequent  growth  of  vego 
latiou  during  the  entire  winter." 

*  f  These  statements,  and  all  others  credited  to  Col.  Allston,  are,  when  not  otherwise  specified,  contained 
'.'  letters  from  that  gentleman  to  the  writer] 

t  Anioiy;  iheee,  "  a  plant  called  -Wild  Rye.'  affording  excellent  herbace  during  the  winter  months,  springs 
ip  spontaneously  on  the  rice-field  banks,  and  between  the  cotton  beds,  on  some  plantations  on  the  River 
Vcngaree,  S  ~  " 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  59 

John  S.  Skinner,  Esq.  thus  yvrites  me  :* 

"  Col.  Hampton's  flock  numbers  800, 1  believe.  He  kills  the  finest  sort  of  mutton  through 
out  the  winter  and  spring — very  fat  and  excellent  in  all  respects.  He  told  me  last  summer, 
at  Saratoga,  that  they  never  get  a  mouthful  except  what  they  can  find  in  the  woods  and 
fields." 

Hon.  R.  F.  Simpson,  Member  of  Congress,  of  Pendlefc>n,  South  Caro 
Una,  thus  describes  the  region  in  which  he  resides,  and  some  of  the  contig 
nous  ones  :t 

HENRY  S.  RANDALL,  Esq.  WASHINGTON,  Jan.  2&,  1847. 

Dear  Sir  :  I  take  much  pleasure  in  answering  your  inquiries,  and  only  regret  that  I  have 
not  more  time  to  do  full  justice  to  the  subject.  If  my  answers  fail  to  inform  you  with  suffi 
cient  clearness  on  any  point,  I  shall  be  most  happy  to  add  to  them,  at  your  suggestion. 

The  Allegany  Mountains,  as  you  are  aware,  run  from  N.  E.  to  S.  W.  That  part  of  them 
north  of  the  S.  C.  line  lies  spread  out  in  different  chains  or  ridges  to  a  distance  of  nearly  50 
miles  ;  and  the  whole  region  is  commonly  called  "  on  th»  mountains."  The  climate  is  healthy 
and  the  grass  fine.  Many  of  the  valleys  in  this  region  are  very  rich,  particularly  on  the  wa- 
ter-courses. The  ground  is  covered  with  snow  as  much  as  four  weeks  annually.  The  range 
is  good,  but  there  may  be  too  much  humidity  for  sheep.t  The  land  is  cheap,  say  $1  per 
acre — but  much  can  be  bought  at  50  cents.  I  have  leamed  from  good  authority  that  sheep 
can  be  farmed  out  during  the  winter  at  ten  cents  a  head,  in  any  ordinary  quantity.  The 
farmers  who  take  them,  too,  will  be  liable  for  loss  by  death,  in  many  instances. 

There  is  a  strip  of  country  lying  east  of  tti3  Blue  Ridge,  and  parallel  to  it,  from  20  to  30 
miles  wide,  extending  through  North  and  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  which  I  think  espe- 
cially adapted  to  sheep  husbandry.  The  land  is  poor  for  the  production  of  our  southern  sta- 
ples, and  is  sparsely  settled,  but  the  pasturage  is  good.  There  is  a  perennial  grass,  known 
as  "  woods  grass,"  which  springs  up  in  the  woods  after  they  are  burned  each  winter,  which 
makes  excellent  pasture  for  all  kinds  of  stock.  It  starts  vigorously  in  the  spring,  and  sheep 
fatten  on  it  by  the  middle  of  July.  It  lasts  all  the  summer,  and  provides  sufficient  food  for 
sheep  during  the  entire  winter,  except  when  snow  is  on  the  ground,  which  is  not  more  than 
two  or  three  days  at  a  time,  and  usually  not  more  than  ten  days  during  a  winter. 

The  few  days  during  which  the  grass  is  covered  up  with  snow  are  the  only  ones,  during 
the  entire  year,  when  it  is  necessary  to  feed  sheep.  This  is  usually  done  with  oats  in  the 
sheaf.  .  .  .  Supposing  ten  sheep  equal  to  one  cow,  I  think  one  acre  would  afford  sub 
aistence  to  three  sheep. 

But  few  people  mow  here.  In  a  few  instances,  herds-grass  has  been  sown  and  mowed, 
but  the  product  not  weighed,  to  my  knowledge.  Both  herds-grass  and  the  natural  ones,  on 
our  bottom  lands,  look  much  richer,  and  to  all  appearance  would  turn  off  a  heavier  crop  of 
hay  than  any  meadows  to  be  seen  on  the  line  of  travel  through  Virginia. 

As  I  have  before  remarked,  the  land  is  poor,  except  the  small  bottoms  on  creeks  and 
branches.  The  latter  are  rich,  and  will  produce  30  bushels  of  corn  and  from  10  to  15  bush* 
els  of  wheat  per  acre.  They  also  produce  oats  and  rye, 'but  I  do  not  know  how  much  by 
measurement.  I  suppose  from  10  to  20  bushels  each.  The  land  is  valued  low — from  50  cte. 
to  $1  50  per  acre — and  it  is  only  necessary  to  buy  $500  or  $1,000  worth  of  it,  to  embrace 
sufficient  bottom  to  raise  provisions,  and  oats  to  feed  sheep  when  snow  is  on  the  ground.— 
The  rangell  is  very  large,  and  everybody's  stock  has  liberty  to  roam  over  it,  without  hin- 
drance or  compensation. 

Our  common  method  of  managing  sheep  is  as  follows :  The  flock  are  kept  in  the  planta- 
tion during  the  winter  by  some ;  others  turn  out  in  the  woods.  In  May  they  are  sheared, 
the  lambs  marked,  &c.,  and  they  are  turned  into  the  out  pastures.  When  they  come  up. 
they  are  salted,  and  no  other  attention  is  paid  to  them  until  fall,  when  most  persons  shear 
again.  They  are.  rarely  brought  up  unless  to  get  a  lamb  for  the  table.  This  treatment  ren- 
ders them  wild,  and  prone  to  jump  into  the  owners'  or  neighbors'  wheat  fields,  from  which 
they  are  driven  out  with  rocks  and  sticks,  and  sometimes  with  dogs.  They  are,  in  all  re- 

*  Jan.  15, 1847. 

f  This  letter  would  have  been  more  appropriately  included  in  my  IVth  Letter,  but  was  not  received  in 
time,  and  it  is  by  far  too  valuable  and  interesting  to  be  omitted. 

1  The  effect  of  humidity  on  sheep  is,  I  think,  often  misunderstood  and  greatly  exaggerated.  Wet,  cold 
toils  are  uncongenial  to  sheep,  but  they  suffer  no  moi-e  from  those  ordinary  fogs  and  vapors  which  prevail 
in  insular  positions,  or  which  are  attracted  by  mountain  ranges,  than  other  domestic  animals.  As  has  been 
before  remarked,  sheep  thrive  in  the  peculiarly  foggy  atmosphere  of  England — also  in  Holland.  Their 
heUthiness  on  mountains  is  proverbial,  yet  these  elevations  are  usually  subject  to  fogs,  and  clouds  rest  on 
the  sides  or  summits  of  the  loftier  ones.  As  the  southern  mountains  are  cleared  of  their  trees,  their  atmo- 
sphere will  be  less  humid,  and  that  soft  vegetable  mould  (which  excited  the  fears  of  Mr.  Buckley)  will  ac- 
quire the  consistency  which  it  always  does  en  a  dry  foundation,  when  exposed  to  the  sun  and  air;  and  it 
will  be  the  means  of  supplying  the  sheep  with  rich  vegetable  nutriment,  instead  of  poisoning  them  with 
•hoof-ail." 

||  The  provincial  signification  of  this  word,  South,  is  the  uninclosed  pasturage  in  tht  Jbrest  and  "out 
Eelds,"— f.  e.,  worn-out  lands  thrown  out  to  commons. 


60  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

•pects,  treated  more  like  outlaws  than  domestic  animals.  When  out,  all  the  flocks  lath* 
neighborhood  mingle  together.  From  their  disposition  to  ramble,  and  the  incursions  of  dogs, 
they  get  scattered,  and  scarcely  any  fanner  can  get  up  to  the  fall  shearing  more  than  one- 
half  of  his  count. 

The  region  above  described  includes  Pickens,  Grenville  and  Spartansburg,  so  far  as  this 
State  is  concerned.  ^  Going  east  of  this  strip,  you  at  once  get  into  good  land,  where  the  set- 
dements  are  frequent.  Here  snow  is  rare,  and  wheat,  rye  and  barley  are  used  for  winter 
pastures  for  sheep,  and  they  continue  growing  during  the  winter.  Wood  grass  does  not 
abound  in  this  region,  as  the  woods  are  not  kept  burnt.* 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  &c.  R.  f.  SIMPSON. 

The  preceding  statements  give  a  sufficient  idea  of  the  expense  of  feed- 
ing sheep  in  the  Carolinas,  Georgia,  and  the  Gulf  States.  In  all  of  these, 
there  is  a  striking  similarity  in  soils  and  natural  products,  and  also  in  cli 
mate — with,  perhaps,  the  exception  of  North  Carolina,  which  is  a  trifle 
colder.  In  all  of  them,  as  wfell  as  in  all  the  other  Southern  States,  land 
can  be  bought  at  the  same  low  prices.t 

The  cost  of  the  winter  forage  of  sheep  in  Tennessee  may  be  inferred 
from  the  statements  of  Mr.  Kramer,  (in  Letter  IV.)  On  even  the  lofty 
Cumberland  Mountains,  in  that  State,  grass  grows  during  the  entire  win- 
ter, and  snow  rarely  covers  the  ground  to  exceed  forty-eight  hours'!  Judge 
Beatty's  statements  in  relation  to  Kentucky  (in  the  same  letter)  show  that 
the  luxuriant  blue-grass  pastures  of  that  State  will  sustain  sheep  during 
the  entire  winter;  and  that  they  frequently  obtain  their  whole  subsistence 
on  the  grasses,  even  on  the  mountains.  Let  us  now  turn  to  Virginia,  the 
most  northern  of  the  Southern  States.  In  a  recent  letter  to  me,  John  S. 
Skinner,  Esq.  says  : 

"  Hon.  Mr.  Coles,  a  Member  of  Congress  from  Virginia* — a  sedate,  attentive  and  practical 
fanner — once  informed  me  that  his  flock  of  200  sheep,  kept  in  good  condition  summer  and 

winter,  did  not  cost  him  $10  a  year You  must  know  that  they,  in  the  general 

way,  as  I  believe,  never  feed  their  sheep,  winter  or  summer,  except  where  the  ground  is 
covered  with  snow — which  is  rarely  the  case,  and  then  the  snow  does  not  lie  more  than  a 
day,  or  at  most  two  days.  .  .  .  No  doubt  winter  pasture  might  be  provided  by  sowing 
rye  in  the  proper  season  (the  usual  system  is  to  sow  it  the  last  thing,  and  as  long  as  the 
farmer  can  "  catch  a  chance")  and  putting  the  ground  in  good  condition ;  and  in  that  way 

adequate  provision  might  be  made  for  any  deficiency  of  natural  pasture When 

the  snow  does  cover  the  ground  in  Virginia,  they  give  the  sheep  corn-blades — an  excellent 
fodder.  I  think  the  rule  was  when  I  was  a  boy  (in  the  rare  exigency  alluded  to)  to  give 
them  a  bundle  of  hlades  each.  A  bundle  of  blades  compacted  would  be  about  as  large  as 
the  upper  part  of  your  arm." 

North- Western  Virginia  seems  to  be  considerably  colder  than  the  corre- 
sponding portion  of  tlio  State  east  of  the  mountains ;  and  the  winter  fod- 
dering season  is  not  greatly  shorter — though  the  amount  of  fodder  con- 
sumed must  be  far  less — than  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  or  in  many  por- 
tions of  N«\v-York.||  Yet,  singularly  enough,  more  sheep  are  bred  here 
in  proportion,  probably,  than  in  any  other  portion  of  the  Southern  States ! 

*  Some  other  paragraphs  from  this  letter  arts  omitted  for  quotation  under  the  heads  01'  which  they  specif- 
ically treat 

t  Hon.  S.  Strong,  ft  Member  of  Congress  from  this  (N.  Y.)  State,  writes  me,  after  consultation  \vith  vari- 
ous Southern  Member*,  thai  "  good  lands  may  be  purchased  for  $>1  50  per  acre,  and  in  great  abundance,  hi 
most  of  the  Southern  State.*." 

Mr.  Garret  Andrew*,  of  Wilkcs  Co.,  Georgia,  in  n  communication  in  the  American  Agriculturist  (April, 
1844),  save  :  "Several  hundred  acres  (in  thr.  middle  or  hilly  zone)  are  often  gold  for  a  dollar1  pr  left*  per 
•ere.  The  usual  rule  is  to  fell  the  wood-land  for  what  it  may  bo  thought  to  be  worth,  and  pivc  the  pur 

chaser  the  old  landu  and  the  houses  for  nothing For  $1.000  or  $1,500,  a  comfortable  house  and 

oat-hou'es,  garden,  &c.  may  be  had,  *vith  *ereral  hundred  acres  of  land,  .  .  •  wanting  nothing  but  a  fail 
Chance  to  become  ns  fertile  as  may  be  <le*ired.  .  .  .  There  is  no  end  of  the  materials  for  manure." 

I  recently  6-%v/  it  staled  by  a  ger-tleman  in  a  communication  which  was  published  in  ihe  N.  Y.  Farmer  acf 
Mechani.-,  that  he  was  authorized  to  gicc  away  good  land  in  the  Cumberland  Mountains  to  sober  and  indut 
trioas  eenlci*. 

The  prices  in  inc  N.  C.  Mountains  will  be  seen  from  Mr.  Clingman's  letter,  (Letter  IV.) 

SMr.  Coles  resided  in  Pittsylvania,  a  county  adjoining  North  Carolina,  in  the  middle  or  hilly  zone. 
Jesse  Edgifigtoil,  of  Hollidny's  Cove,  Brooke  Co  ,  Va..  writes  me :  "  Our  average  time  of  foddering  It 
at  least  4  month*,  and  we  generally  provide  provender  equal  to  5  tons  of  hay  for  each  hundred  grow* 
•beep,  fur  the  winter." 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


This  region  being  essentially  Northern  m  its  characteristics  no  allusion 
will  be  had  to  it  in  subsequent  remarks. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  preceding  statements  that  in  many,  if  not  most 
situations,  throughout  the  whole  Southern  States,  sheep  will  obtain  suffi- 
cient food  throughout  the  year  from  the  pastures,*  or  from  autumn-sown 
grains,  excepting  on  the  higher  or  more  northern  mountains.  As  has  been 
before  remarked,  as  the  grain  subsequently  yields  its  crop,  its  tillage  is  not 
properly  chargeable  among  the  expenses  of  producing  wool.  The  prepa- 
ration of  hay,  and  labor  of  foddering,  are  also  dispensed  with.  By  the 
rule  of  estimation  followed  in  relation  to  New-York,  the  items  on  the  debit 
side  of  the  account  would  then  be — interest  on  purchase  money;  interest 
on  land  ;  expense  of  shearing;  salt,  tar,  and  general  supervision  ;  and  loss 
by  death.  The  items  on  the  credit  side  would  be  the  same  with  those  of 
New- York. 

Your  own  statements,  Sir,  as  well  as  those  of  Mr.  Simpson,  show  that, 
in  many  situations,  both  in  the  tide-water  and  hilly  zone,  three  sheep  can 
be  supported  on  the  herbage  of  an  acre,  without  other  fodder.  His  state- 
ments show  that  such  lands  can  be  bought  at  "  from  50  cents  to  $1  50  per 
acre."  The  annual  account  then  would  stand  thus : 


Dr.                                           $  cts. 

Or.                                         $  cts. 

100  sheep  —  to  interest  on  purchase  money,  at 
$1  25  per  head                                     .-            $875 

By  300  Ibs.  of  wool  at  31  cents  per  pound...  $93  00 
••    80  lambs,  at  62.}  cents  per  head  50  00 

"  Manure  t                              28  00 

14  expense  of  shearing  4  00 

'•  loss  by  death  2  per  cent,  over  and  above 

Total  $26  75 

Balance  $144  25 

Making  $4  32,  or  two  hundred  and  eighty-eight  per  cent,  clear  profit  per 
acre,  on  lands  worth  $1  50  ! 

By  the  respective  estimates  it  will  be  seen  that  the  gross  cost  of  pro- 
ducing a  pound  of  wool  (allowing  3  Ibs.  to  the  fleece)  is,  in  the  Southern 
States,  8^2-  cents  ;  in  New-York  27|^  cents! — or  nearly  three  and  a  half 
times  ^rvater  in  the  latter  !  I  have  put  down  the  expense  of  shearing  the 
same  in  both  cases,  and  the  supervision,  South,  twice  as  high  as  the  sum 
mer  care,  in  the  North.  Shearing  always  costs  $1  a  day,  per  hand,  in  the 
North,  and  the  summer  care  devolves  upon  the  paid  laborer  \vhose  every 
hour  counts.  The  shearing  would  not  be  worth  to  exceed  $2  a  hundred 
on  a  plantation  where  slaves  are  kept,  and  the  supervision  or  care  could 
scarcely  be  considered  an  expense,  when  it  could  be  borne  mainly,  if  not 
entirely,  by  superannuated  or  decrepit  slaves,  or  even  by  children.  The 
real  expense  of  growing  wool  on  land  of  this  quality  and  price  would  be 
about  Sj1^  cents  per  pound  ;||  and  calling  the  fleece  4  Ibs.  (which  weight  it 
always  ought  to  be  made  to  attain)  it  would  but  little  exceed  3-J  cents.§ 
This  is  above  Mr.  Coles's  estimate  of  expense  in  southern  central  Vir- 
ginia, and  Mr.  John  S.  Skinner  has  repeatedly  expressed  the  opinion  that 
it  could  be  grown  in  various  parts  of  the  Southern  States  at  3  cents  per 

*  This  supply  could  be  rendered  far  more  certain  and  available,  where  desirable,  by  leaving  a  portion  of 
the  fields  undepastured  in  the  latter  part  of  summer  and  autumn.  This  "fog"'  or  after-grass  would  not  only 
•tibrd  much  food,  of  itself,  but  it  also  greatly  favors  the  sprouting  of  the  young  grass  underneath  it,  by  the 
protection  it  offers  from  frosts  and  cold  winas. 

t  1  have  put  this  down  the  fame  as  at  the  North,  because  I  suppose  it  is  just  as  valuable  at  the  South. 
And  quite  is  much  needed.  Few  are  disposed  to  appreciate  the  value  of  manure  when  it  is  not  presented 
to  their  view  in  bulk,  as  in  the  barn-yard ;  but  it  is  worth  quite  as  much,  dropped  in  the  first  instance 
over  the  fields.  I  feel  confident  that  I  have  not  over-estimated  its  value  either  for  the  South  or  the  North. 

J  To  obtain  these  results,  I  divided  the  whole  annual  expense,  as  set  down  in  the  respective  estimate*, 
with  the  exception  of  the  charge  of  2  per  cent,  for  loss  by  death,  by  the  amount  of  wool  produced.  For 
reasons  already  given,  I  do  not  consider  the  wool  chargeable  with  such  loss  by  death,  except  in  an  eft 
timate  where  the  full  product  of  wool  and  lambs  is  carried  out. 

||  In  this  estimate  I  call  shearing  $2  per  hundr^i,  salt  and  tar  $1,  and  supervision  nothing. 

$  Estimated  as  in  the  preceding  note. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


pound.*  My  own  impression,  however,  is  that  the  land,  properly  in- 
closed, that  will  support  3  sheep  per  annum,  will  cost,  except  in  occa» 
eional  localities,  not  less  than  $4  or  $5,  let  the  amount  be  more  or  less ; 
and  this  would  bring  the  cost  of  production  (with  3-lb.  fleeces)  to  between 
7  and  8  cents  per  pound.  I  shall  hereafter  assume  it  to  be  8  cents. 

On  many  of  the  more  northern  mountains  of  the  Southern  States,  and 
on  the  high  peaks  farther  south,  neither  the  grasses  nor  grain  grow  suffi 
ciently  to  support  sheep,  unless  the  range  is  very  large  in  proportion  to 
the  number,  during  the  winter.!  Here,  as  in  the  Northern  States,  dry  feed 
must  be  prepared  for  the  winter  subsistence  of  sheep.  This  can  be  read- 
ily done,  as  the  best  meadow  grasses  of  the  North  and  the  clovers  flourish 
on  the  sides  of  the  mountains-!  There  is  little  doubt  that  sheep  can  be 
wintered  on  dry  feed  on  many  of  the  mountains,  and  yet,  on  account  of 
the  extreme  cheapness  of  the  lands,  the  cost  of  producing  wool  not  exceed 
eight  cents  per  pound. 

In  the  circumstances  of  many  of  the  lowland  plantations,  it  would  b« 
a  most  economical  arrangement  to  summer  the  sheep  on  the  mountain^ 
and  then  drive  them  to  these  plantations  to  be  wintered  on  pasture,  fog, 
or  grain  fields,  according  to  convenience.  After  the  lambs  have  reached 
a  sufficient  age  in  the  spring,  and  the  sheep  are  shorn,  marked,  &c.,  a 
flock  might  be  sent  thirty,  fifty,  or  even  a  hundred  miles  to  its  summer 
range  on  the  mountains,  at  a  trifling  expense ;  and  large  numbers  could 
lie  kept  there  under  the  surveillance  of  a  single  shepherd  and  a  brace  or 
two  of  dogs.  By  this  system  the  lowland  plantation  would  be  saved  from 
maintaining  pasture  on  more  expensive  lands ;  many  of  its  less  marketa- 
ble products  could  be  converted  into  wool,  meat,  and  manure  ;  and  it 
would  be  enriched  by  the  wintering  of  the  sheep. 

Such,  you  are  aware,  is  the  system  of  sheep  husbandry  in  Spain.  The 
sheep  are  wintered  on  the  plains  of  Estremadura,  sometimes  reaching  the 
north  of  Andalusia.  Both  of  these  provinces,  though  in  a  latitude  cor- 
responding with  that  of  a  portion  of  the  United  States,  extending  from 
Albemarle  Sound  to  a  little  north  of  Philadelphia,  are  parched,  during  the 
summer,  to  a  state  of  arid  sterility,  by  the  burning  winds  of  Africa. ||  In 

*  See  Monthly  Journal  of  Agriculture. 

t  With  sufficient  range,  however,  they  not  only  obtain  subsistence,  but  get  fat.  John  S.  Skinner,  Esq., 
writes  me  :  "  In  the  mountains  ot  Virginia,  viz.,  at  the  Warm  Springs,  Dr.  Brockenboro  told  me  that  a 
flock  of  sheep  which  he  had  bought  for  use  during  the  watering  season,  strayed,  and  got  off  beyond  reach 
during  the  summer;  that  the  winter  after  they  were  rarely  seen:  and  that  as  chance  offered  they  were 
rJiut;  and  that  tiner  and  fatter  mutton  he  never  desired  to  see."  The  Warm  Springs  are  in  Bath  county, 
among  the  Western  or  Allegany  Mountains,  a  few  minutes  north  of  latitude  38°. 

{  See  Mr.  Goggin's  statements  in  Letter  IV.  Since  the  above  was  written,  I  have  received  the  following 
statements  from  "Mr.  W.  Murdock,  of  Asheville,  Huricombe  county,  North  Carolina  : 

"  Excellent  swards  of  grass  are  grown  in  this  district  from  Orchard  grass  or  Cock's-foot.  Timothy  and 
Italian  Rye  grass  I  have  found  to  thrive  remarkably  well.  I  never  saw  them  do  better  in  any  country.  1 
received  my  seeds  from  England,  and  they  succeeded  admirably,  and  in  ground  by  no  means  favorable  to 
a  fair  trial.  Turnips  succeed  remarkably  well  hew,  and  even  lf>0  miles  farther  south,  as  I  am  informed  by 

Mr.  Edward  Calhoun— the  kinds  I  don't  know— but  here  the  Globe,  Aberdeen,  Norfolk,  &c.,  do  well 

If  grounds  were  reserved  as  you  suggest,  for  the  winter  feeding  of  sheep,  the  full  growth  being  under- 
pastured,  and  if  some  of  the  stubbles  were  plowed  up  and  sown  broadcast  with  turnips  mixed  with  rape 
or  colza,  very  little  fodder  will  be  required,  in  fact  only  when  snow  is  on  the  ground,  which  seldom  ex- 
ceeds fifteen  or  twenty  days  during  tli<e  year."  [This  fully  confirms  the  positions  assumed  by  me  near  the 
close  of  Letter  IV.] 

•'  I  think  that  Curled  Kale  would  be  excellent  for  the  winter  keep  of  sheep,  or  cattle  of  any  kind.  I  got 
«ome  seed  from  England  and  sowed  it  like  any  cabbage  seed.  1  put  out  the  plants  two  feet  asunder  in  bu 
tolerable  ground.  It  grew  three  feet  high  and  two  feet  in  diameter.  That  I  planted  in  the  open  field  the 
•heep  got  at  in  October,  and  ate  it,  stock,  branches  and  all,  to  the  ground.  That  planted  in  the  garden  has, 
like  the  rape,  stood  the  severe  frosts  uninjured.  It  is  a  delightful  vegetable  all  the  spring,  and  stands  a 

warm  or  a  cold  climate This  and  rape  are,  I  think,  all  the  green  food  necessary  to  koep  sheep 

through  the  winter,  with  the  addition  of  a  litile  hay.  Rape  may  be  sown  broadcast  in  mois.  weather  in 
May  or  June,  and  mown  off  for  the  sheep,  when  required,  about  six  inches  above  ground.  If  the  shoota 
are  not  required  for  pasture,  let  them  go' to  seed,  and  the  feed  will  pay  better  than  any  other  crop,  for 
making  oil  and  rape  cake." 

l|  Here  is  a  notable  instance  of  the  want  of  correspondence  between  isothermal  and  latitudinal  lines  be- 
tween the  west  of  Europe  and  the  eastern  portion  of  our  own  Continent.  The  two  Spanish  provinces  th< 
<*titude  of  which  is  above  given,  have  a  climate  more  resembling  the  scorched  llanos  ol'Caraccas  thuuaoi 
portion,  even  the  most  southerly,  of  the  United  States. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  63 

the  winter,  however,  they  are  covered  with  verdure.  About  the  iirst  of 
May  the  sheep  start  for  the  mountains,*  Formerly  many  of  them  rested 
on  the  lofty  paramcras  and  mountain  sides  of  Old  and  New  Castile — the 
latter  bleak,  sterile  and  craggy,  compared  with  the  sides  of  our  own  South- 
ern mountains.  But  a  friend  recently  from  Spain  informs  me  that  those 
once  magnificent  flocks  (now,  alas  !  thinned  by  confiscation, f  the  whole- 
sale plunder  of  invaders,!  and  for  the  subsistence  of  adverse  armies, ||)  do  not 
at  present  stop  in  any  considerable  numbers  on  the  Castilian  mountains, 
but  pass  north  to  the  Cantabrian,  and  that  portion  of  the  Iberian  range 
north  of  Soria — or  crossing  the  latter,  spread  over  the  Eastern  Pyrenees, 
and  the  mountains  of  Saragossa  north  of  the  Ebro. 

Anything  Tike  an  elaborate  comparison  between  the  facilities  for  sheep 
husbandry  furnished  by  the  mountains  of  Spain  and  the  Apalachians  of 
the  United  States,  south  of  the  Potomac,  would,  perhaps,  be  out  of  place 
in  this  connection.  But  a  glance  at  them  may  throw  useful  light  on  the 
question  of  comparative  profit.  If  the  Spaniard  can  grow  wool  at  a  profit, 
where  the  natural  and  physical  features  of  the  country  gives  him  no  ad- 
vantage over  us,  we  can  certainly  do  so  ;  for  in  every  other  respect  we 
have  the  advantage. 

The  Eastern  Pyrenees  rise,  to  a  hight  of  10,000  feet,§  more  than  double 
that  of  the  Peaks  of  Otter,  or  that  of  any  other  portion  of  the  Apalachian 
range,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  summits  in  North  Carolina.  Mount 
Perdu,  one  of  the  Pyrenees,  is  11, 283  feet  in  hight, fl  or  4,807  feet  higher 
than  the  Black,  the  highest  mountain  of  the  United  States  east  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi. Maladetta,  Vignemale  and  others  rise  considerably  above  10,000 
feet.**  Glaciers  exist  on  different  parts  of  the  whole  chain.  "  The  acclivity 
of  the  Pyrenees  on  the  side  of  Spain,  is  often  extremely  steep,tt  present 
ing  a  succession  of  rugged  chasms,  abrupt  precipices,  and  huge  masses  of 
naked  rock."JJ  Minano,  a  Spanish  writer  of  authority,  in  defending  his 
countrymen  from  the  charge  of  indolence,  speaks  particularly  of  the  ef 
forts  of  the  hardy  peasantry  on  the  "  almost  inaccessible  mountains  of  the 
Asturias,  Galicia  and  Catalonia."  The  vegetation  on  these  mountains  is  ex- 
tremely variable,  in  some  places  being  as  luxuriant  as  the  best  on  our  South- 
ern Apalachians,  but  more  frequently  dwarfish  and  meager.  On  lar^e 
portions  of  them  it  is  entirely  wanting.  The  northern  acclivities  are  fre- 
quently swept  by  cold  and  piercing  gales  from  the  Bay  of  Biscay.  On  the 
whole,  it  will  be  seen  that  they  do  not  compare  with  our  southern  moun- 
tains in  the  advantages  which  they  offer  for  sheep  husbandry. ||  || 

*  For  singular  and  interesting  particulars  in  relation  to  their  march,  &c.,  and  the  municipal  regulations 
pertaining  thereto,  see  Livingston  on  Sheep,  p.  36  et  supra. 

t  Some  of  the  choicest  flocks  in  Spain  were  confiscated  by  the  Government  during  the  great  antf-dallic 
struggle.  In  the  winter  of  1809,  the  Spanish  Junto  confiscated  the  great  flocks  of  the  infamously  celebrated 
Oodoy  and  several  oiher  nobles,  and  they  were  bought  by  foreigners  for  exportation. 

I  The  French  Marshals,  not  finding  anything  in  Spain  to  benefit  ihefaie  arts  of  la  belle  France,  as  in  Italy, 
condescended,  it  is  said,  to  benefit  her  Agriculture,  by  driving  home  some  of  the  best  flocks  of  Spain.  The 
Allied  Armies  compelled  the  restitution  of  the  marble  and  canvas,  but  those  priceless  flocks  either  could  not 
be  re-collected,  or  they  were  not  regarded  as  of  sufficient  importance  to  be  returned. 

||  The  Commissariat  of  the  English,  French  and  Spanish  armies, 

"  The  foe,  the  victim,  and  the  fond  nlly," 

found  the  great  Spanish  flocks  a  very  convenient  resort,  and  availed  themselves  of  it  fully.  The  Guerilla*, 
contrabandists,  and  fugitive  inhabitants,  of  course,  did  the  same. 

ft  Malte  Krun.  tf  Ib.  **  Kncycloptedia  Americana;  ait.  Pyrcnerc. 

ft  Montserrat  (in  Catalonia),  so  famous  for  its  monastic  establishments,  will  occur  to  you  in  this  cornice- 
tion — where  the  steepness  is  so  great  ihnt  the  monks  ascend  from  hermitage  to  hermitage  by  ladders  01 
etairs  cut  in  the  rocks  !  {t  Encyclopedia  Americana.;  art.  i'yrr.nces. 

|1 1|  How  much  the  associations  of  early  life — early  reading — dispose  us  to  exr.airerate  even  the  physical 
extent  of  the  region  covered  by  these  mountains,  connected  as  they  are  with  so  many  romantic  and  inter- 
esting remembrances  !  The  whole  chain,  extending  from  Cape  Finisterre  to  Pott  Veftdrce,  does  not  exceed 
250  miles  in  length;  and  the  space  covered  by  it  is  not,  in  Western  parlance,  a  "  circumstance  "  to  that  oc- 
cupied by  our  Southern  Apalachians  !  Yet,  in  the  western  half  of  this  chain,  Pelayo  and  his  successors 
maintained  their  Visi-Gothic  kingdom,  overthrew  the  descendants  of  the  Abassides  and  Omrniadcs,  and 
finally  wrested  Spain  from  the  Moodsh  yoke.  Who  remembers,  without  the  map  under  his  eye,  that  Haw 


64  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


The  route  pursued  by  the  Spanish  flocks  from,  say,  the  middle  of  E»- 
tremaciura  to  the  Gantabrian  mountains  (the  western  portion  of  the  Py- 
renees), cannot  fall  short  of  300  miles.  It  equals  270  miles  in  a  direct 
line.  In  addition  to  the  length  of  the  journey,  they  are  compelled  to  crosg 
the  Castilian  mountains,  and  if  they  come  from  the  south  of  Estremadura, 
also  the  mountains  of  Toledo.  Their  route  to  the  eastern  Pyrenees  would 
be  farther  and  still  more  difficult.  Every  circumstance,  then,  excepting 
municipal  regulations,*  gives  our  Southern  States,  on  both  sides  of  the 
Apalachians,  a  manifest  advantage  over  Spain,  for  the  purposes  of  migra- 
tory sheep  husbandry. 

Before  closing  the  investigation  of  the  question  of  the  direct  profits  of 
wool-growing  in  the  Southern  States,  it  is  proper  to  inquire  if  there  are 
any  special  local  militating  causes  or  disadvantages  not  yet  adverted  to 
which  should  be  taken  into  the  account.  Diligent  investigation  has  satis- 
fied me  that  there  are  no  such  causes — on  the  other  hand,  that  there  is  a 
remarkable  exemption  from  them — with  one  exception.  That  exception 
is  the  destruction  caused  by  wolves  arid  dogs. 

Wolves  are  found  in  nearly  all  new,  and  particularly  in  mountainous 
countries  ;  but  they  invariably  rapidly  give  way  before  the  extension  of 
population.t  They  have  even  now  ceased  to  be  very  destructive  in  the 
most  sparsely  settled  regions  of  the  South.  Mr.  Simpson,  in  the  letter  be- 
fore quoted  from,  says  : 

"There  are  but  few  wolves  in  South  Carolina,  excepting  on  the  mountains.  Otherwise, 
our  sheep  which  roam  at  large  unteuded  by  shepherd,  and  uncared-for  by  any  one,  would 
soon  be  exterminated.  The  wolves  are  not  numerous  even  on  the  mountains.  They  are 
not  so  destructive  as  dogs,  which  every  now  and  then  attack  and  destroy  the  sheep.  A 
trusty  shepherd,  with  a  dog  or  two  and  a  rifle,  would  prevent  this." 

These  remarks  would  apply  equally  well  to  nearly  all  the  Southern 
States.  Wolves  do  but  little  damage,  and  would  soon  cease  to  do  any  ; 
but  the  miserable,  prowling  curs  are,  in  many  places,  a  serious  detriment. 
There  is  something  singular  in  the  fact  that  while  so  much  complaint  is 
made  of  them  in  the  Southern  and  Western  States,  in  New- York,  where 
there  is  certainly  a  great  surplus  of  them,  we  hear  little,  comparatively 
speaking,  of  their  depredations.  I  am  inclined  to  attribute  it  to  the  fact 
that  dogs  are  here  constantly  familiarized  with  the  sight  of  sheep.  The 
first  even  playful  movement  of  thex  adventurous  puppy  toward  them  is 
severely  chastised,  and  he  is  thus  educated  to  recognize  them  as  within 
the  category  of  "  protected  "  animals.  The  dog  which  slays  or  even  pur- 
sues a  sheep,  finds  a  long  pedigree  or  a  silver  collar  utterly  unavailing  t( 
save  him  from  immediate  death.! 

But  even  in  the  South  or  West,  the  loss  occasioned  by  the  depredation* 

nockburn  was  fought  and  Flodden  lost  to  defend  a  Kingdom  of  half  the  dimensions  of  a  good-sized  Ameri 
can  State!  In  comparing  the  agricultural  capabilities— and  especially  in  estimating  the  uuimate  result  of 
agricultural  competition  between  our  own  country  and  the  European  ones,  we  rarely  take  sufficiently  int< 
Tfew  the  great  disparity  in  territorial  dimensions. 

*  For  the  monopoly  of  privileges  conferred  on  the  flock-masters  of  Spain  to  the  oppression  and  prcwtr* 
tfon  of  every  other  branch  of  husbandry,  see  Lasterie,  and  alBO  Livingston  on  Pheep. 

t  A  bounty  of  $10  is  paid  for  the  destruction  of  every  full-grown  wolf,  and  $5  for  a  wolf's  whelp  in  th* 
State  of  New-Yovk. 

I  In  New-York  it  is  provided  by  law  that  every  bitch  over  three  months  old  shall  be  taxed  $2  ;  every  nd 
ditional  one  owned  by  the  same  man  $5 ;  twn  dogs  over  6  months  old  $1 ;  every  additional  one  $3.  The 
•vails  of  these  taxes  constitute  a  fund,  out  of  which  Supervisors  of  Counties  are  to  pay  for  any  sheep  slain 
by  dogs  whose  owners  are  unknown.  This  is  not  often  enforced. 

Any  person  may  kill  any  dog  "  which  he  shall  see  chasing,  worrying,  or  wounding  any  sheep,"  unless  by 
direction  of  owner. 

The  owner  or  possessor  of  any  dog  on  being  notified  "  of  any  injury  done  by  his  dog  to  any  eheep,  or 
his  dog  having  chased  or  worried  any  sheep,"  must  within  48  hours  kill  his  dog.  or  forfeit  $2  50,  and  the 
farther  sum  of  $1  25  for  every  48  hours  thereafter,  unless  "  it  shall  satisfactorily  appear  to  the  Court  that  it 
was  not  in  the  power  of  euch  owner  or  possessor  to  kill  such  dog."  Revised  Statutes  of  New-York,  vol  I 
ebap.  xx.,  title  xvii. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  65 

of  other  animals,  or  the  expense  of  guarding  against  them,  would  be  light 
compared  with  that  in  some  of  the  wool-growing  regions  of  the  Old  World. 

In  Australia,  the  sheep  are  exposed  to  the  attack  of  wolves,  dogs,  and 
convicts,  and  are  constantly  attended  by  a  shepherd,  and  nightly  folded, 
and  guarded  by  a  watchman  with  dogs  and  a  fire.* 

At  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  the  shepherd  and  folding  system  is  also  fol 
lowed.  In  addition  to  wolves,  and  wild  dogs  which  hunt  in  packs,  and 
from  their  superior  sagacity  are  much  more  formidable  than  wolves,t  the 
Cape  sheep  are  preyed  upon  by  a  variety  of  animals,  and  when  they  pass 
the  mountains  to  glean  the  herbage  which  springs  on  the  banks  of  the 
streams  on  the  vast  and  lonely  Karoos,  they  are  exposed  to  the  attack  of 
the  lion,  the  panther,  the  leopard,  and  the  whole  Feline  family,  so  abund- 
ant and  so  particularly  formidable  in  Southern  Africa.^  And  they  have 
had,  and  probably  yet  have,  an  enemy  more  destructive  than  all  of  these, 
in  the  Bushmen,  more  wild,  irreclaimable,  and  predatory  than  their  con- 
geners, the  Bedouins  of  the  Arabian  desert. || 

I  have  seen  it  proposed§  to  teach  young  cattle  to  protect  sheep  from 
dogs,  in  the  following  manner  :  Turn  a  few  steers  into  the  pasture  with 
the  sheep,  and  with  them  a  cow  or  two,  having  young  calves  at  their  sides. 
Send  a  dog  into  the  field,  and  immediately  the  cows,  followed  by  the 
steers,  will  commence  a  furious  onset  on  the  dog,  and  gore  him  or  drive 
him  from  the  field.  After  this  is  repeated  a  few  times,  it  is  said  the  steers 
will  suffer  no  dog  to  enter  the  inclosure. 

This  might  do  very  well  under  some  circumstances,  but  I  should  prefei 
to  rely  on  the  remedy  proposed  by  Mr.  Simpson :  the  dog  and  the  rifle. 
There  are  no  "  shepherd  dogs  "  large  and  powerful  enough  to  encounter 
and  kill  wolves  and  vagrant  dogs,  excepting  the  great  sheep-dog  of  Spain  ; 
and  he  is  so  irreclaimably  ferocious  to  all  excepting  his  charge,  that  he 
might  frequently  bring  his  owner  into  difficulty,  and  even  endanger  human 
life.  My  impression  is  that  a  shepherd  dog  or  two,  to  be  on  the  alert, 
and  a  brace  of  mastiffs  to  capture  and,  if  need  be,  slay  wolf  or  cur,  would 
be  adequate  protection  for  the  sheep  on  a  considerable  range,  and  the 
expense  of  maintaining  them  would  be  trifling. 

*  Cunningham's. "Two  Years  in  New  South  Wales,"  vol.  i.  p.  251. 
\  Missionary  Labors  and  Scenes  in  Southern  Africa,  by  Rev.  Robert  Moffat,  pp.  23-4. 
tThe  following  stanza  from  the  spirited  lines  of  Freiligrath — "  The  Lion's  Ilide  " — will  occur  to  you  , 
"  And  the  vulture  scenting  a  coming  carouse, 
Snails,  hoarsely  screaming,  down  the  sky  ; 
The  bloody  hyena,  be  sure,  is  nigh, 
Fierce  pillager  he  of  the  charnel-house  ! 
The  panther,  too,  who  strangles  the  Cape-Town  eheep 

As  they  lie  asleep, 

Athirst  for  his  share  in  the  slaughter,  follows  ; 

While  the  gore  of  their  victim  spreads  like  a  pool  in  the  sandy  hollows  !  " 

S  To  these  may  be  added  the  savage  Kaffirs,  who,  in  their  recent  struggle  with  the  Colonial  Government, 
destroyed  and  drove  off  immense  numbers  of  cattle  and  sheep.     In  1834,  •'  the  natives,''  says  Youatt,  "drovt 
off  or  destroyed  80,000  cattle  and  sheep  almost  innumerable." 
§  By  a  writer  in  the  American  Agriculturist. 


G6  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


LETTER  VI. 

PROFITS  OF  SHEEF  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  STATES— 2.  AS  THB 
BASIS  OF  AMELIORATION  IN  NATURALLY  STERILE  AND  WORN-OUT 
SOILS. 

Feasibility  of  rendering  the  naturally  sterile  and  worn-out  Soils  of  the  South  productive...  Means  must  b* 
ample  and  cheap..  .Ordinary  Animal  Manures  from  Stables,  &.c.,  not  attainable  in  sufficient  quantity— too 
'expensive  if  transported  far  by  land  carriage... Animal  Manures  of  Commerce  still  more  out  of  the  ques- 
tion.. .Gyp.-um — not  sufficient  of  itself. .  .Wood  Ashes — Leached  Ashes — their  great  value,  but  limited 
quantity..  .Lime  (marl)...  Swamp  Mud— inexhaustible  quantity  of  each..  .Valuable  Effects  of  Lime  on 
.Soils...  Other  wise  when  there  is  n  deficiency  of  Organic  Matter...  Opinion  of  Johnston,  Brown,  Lord 
Kaimes,  Anderson,  Morton,  Thaer,  Petzholdt,  Chaptal... Southern  Tertiary  and  Granitic  Soils  destitute  of 
Organic  Matter..  .Expensiveness  of  Marl-not  very  permanent  in  its  effects..  .The  best  Swamp  Mud  worth 
more  per  load . .  .This,  too,  an  expensive  manure. .  .Both  too  costly  for  extensive  ameliorations. .  .Is  there, 
then,  any  resort?— There  is — it  is  to  be  found  in  a  Mixed  System  of  Green  and  Animal  Manuring,  the  lat- 
ter made  attainable  by  Sheep  Husbandry..  .Experience  and  Testimony  of  various  English  Farmers  under 
analogous  circumstances...  Reasons  why  Sheep  are  preferred  to  Horned  Cattle  for  this  purpose... Con- 
sidered  more  profitable  in  England,  and  by  some  in  the  United  States,  independent  of  Fleece..  .Singular 
Hallucination  of  Col  Taylor  on  this  subject... Sheep  preferred  as  Improvers  of  Poor  Lands  in  the  North- 
ern and  Eastern  States,  but  the  end  Bought  by  different  means  from  those  employed  in  England... The 
English  System — Reasons  why  it  is  inapplicable  in  the  United  States ...  System  in  the  Northern  and  East- 
ern American  States ...  Proper  System  in  the  Southern  States,  on  Lands  now  partly  Grassed,  and  on  Naked 
Soils...  Green  Manuring — how  accomplished — Proper  Plants  for  the  purpose — Practical  Rules — Expensive- 
ness. ..Should  the  Pasture  Lands  of  the  South  be  exclusively  devoted  to  Sheep  Grazing  ? — Should  not.. . 
Home  Demand  should  be  supplied  by  Home  Production,  in  the  Staples  furnished  by  all  the  Domestic 
Animals — Reasons  therefor... As  a  surplus  or  exporting  Animal  Staple,  Sheep  furnish  the  one  in  which 
the  South  can  best  coirpete  with  other  Producers. 

Dear  Sir  :  Let  us  now  pass  to  the  second  point  in  reference  to  which 
wo  are  to  consider  the  profits  of  sheep  husbandry  in  the  Southern  States, 
viz. :  the  practicability  and  comparative  economy  of  making  it  the  basis 
of  an  effectual  amelioration  in  soils  naturally  sterile,  or  those  which  have 
been  rendered  so  by  excessive  and  injudicious  cultivation. 

The  first  of  these  classes  of  soils  is  confined,  mainly,  to  the  tide-water 
zone.  The  second  is  found  both  in  this  and  the  hilly  zone,  and,  I  need 
not  say,  in  immense  quantities. 

How  can  these  soils  be  profitably  ameliorated  1  It  is  certain  that  this 
can  only  be  done  by  the  introduction  into  them  of  substances  fitted  to  be- 
come the  food  of  plants — or  which,  by  chemical  combinations  or  changes, 
prepare  other  substances  to  become  such  food.  On  soils  naturally  too 
sterile  to  sustain  useful  vegetation,  the  quantity  of  fertilizing  matter  intro- 
duced must  be  comparatively  large.  Hence  it  must  be  cheap,  or  its  cost 
will  more  than  overbalance  its  advantages.  There  are  various  manures 
which  separately,  or  in  conjunction,  would  convert  the  worst  acre  of  bar- 
ren sand  between  Richmond  and  Raleigh,  or,  if  you  please,  on  the  Desert 
of  Sahara,  into  a  fertile  garden,  provided  it  could  have  timely  rains  and 
be  protected  from  the  burying  sands.  But  it  is  utterly  useless  to  argu  3 
the  feasibility  of  this  means  or  that,  without  at  the  same  time  examining 
its  economy. 

The  direct  and  profuse  application  of  animal  manures,  for  example, 
would  probably  effectually  ameliorate  any  of  these  soils.  But  where  are 
these  manures  to  be  obtained,  in  a  region  where  the  first  necessary  condi- 
tion for  their  production,  i.  e.  the  vegetation  necessary  to  support  domes- 
tic animals,  is  wanting?  The  quantity  accumulating  in  the  cities  and  vil- 
lages of  a  comparatively  sparsely  populated  region — in  a  climate  where 
the  preservation  of  putrefying  substances  would  be  incompatible  with 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


67 


health,  would  be  inconsiderable.  And  whether  more  or  less,  it  would  noi 
pay  the  cost  of  transportation  to  any  considerable  distance  by  land  car- 
riage. Guano,  poudrette,  bone-dust,  and  all  the  expensive  manures  of 
commerce,  are  still  more  out  of  the  question.  Gypsum,  on  account  of  the 
smallness  of  the  quantity  requisite,  is  a  cheap  manure,  and,  reasoning  from 
analogy,  should  be. a  valuable  one,  under  proper  circumstances,  at  least  on 
the  granitic  soils  of  the  South.*  Mr.  Ruffin  states  that  it  produces  little  ef- 
fect in  the  Tertiary  sands.t  It  is  considered  by  practical  men  to  be,  at 
the  best,  rather  an  aider  of  organic  manure  than  a  substitute  for  it,  and 
when  repeatedly  applied  without  any  other  fertilizing  substance,  it  ceases 
to  produce  any  visible  effect.  On  an  exhausted  soil,  the  chemical  consti- 
tution of  gypsum  shows  that  it  could  not  replace  all  the  substances  ab- 
stracted by  the  plants  ;  and  on  one  naturally  sterile,  there  is  small  proba- 
bility that  it  would  happen  to  supply  the  only  deficiency  necessary  to  the 
production  of  vegetation.  Wood  ashes  constitute-  a  most  valuable  manure 
on  probably  every  class  of  soils,  and.  unlike  lime,  gypsum,  soda,  etc.,  which 
afford  only  a  limited  number  of  those  substances  which  constitute  the 
necessary  food  of  plants,  they  afford  in  a  greater  proportion  than  any 
other  manure  the  inorganic  substances  which  are  taken  up  and  assimilated 
by  plants.f  They  are  used  with  the  most  beneficial  effect  on  the  granitic 
soils  of  New-England,  the  calcareous  and  aluminous  ones  of  Middle  New 
York,  the  silicious  ones  of  the  southern  or  grazing  region,  and  on  the  Ter- 
tiary sands  of  Long  Island.  On  the  latter,  of  the  same  geological  forma- 
tion with  your  tide-water  zone — in  fact  but  a  continuation  of  it — even  the- 
leached  or  washed  ashes  bring  a  shilling  per  bushel  (the  same  that  is  pai<fc 
for  the  unwashed  ashes  by  the  soaper  and  manufacturer  of  pearl  or  pot 
ashes)  for  agricultural  purposes. ||  But  the  supply  cannot  be  made  suffi- 
ciently large  for  extensive  agricultural  ameliorations,  without  a  destruc- 
tion of  the  forests,  which  wouM  inflict  a  grievous  and  utterly  inexcusable 
wrong  on  posterity. 

The  Southern  Atlantic  and  Gulf  States  possess  two  natural  arid  inex- 
aaustible  deposits  of  fertilizing  matter,  which,  it  is  supposed  by  many,, 
would  be  fully  adequate  to  the  general  "reclamation  "§  of  their  barren  and: 
exhausted  evils.  The  first  of  these  is  the  marl,  which  underlies  large  por- 
tions of  the  low  country  of  Virginia  and  South  Carolina,  and  probably  the 

*  I  refer  here  to  the  successful  example  of  its  use  on  the  granitic  soils  of  New-England.  I  have  particu- 
'arly  specified  this  class  of  soils  because  your  barren  ones  are  limited  to  them  and  to^the  Tertiary.  Gypsum, 
is  used  nt  the  North  on  nearly  every  class  of  Boils  with  advantage — calcareous,  aluminous,  silicious  and  alii 
intermediate  varieties.  It  will  be  found  very  valuable,  I  have  no  doubt,  on  your  mountain  lands,  particu- 
larly in  localities  where  the  clovers  flourish. 

t  Ruffin's  Agricultural  Survey  of  South  Carolina.  1843. ' 

J  To  show  the  value  of  ashes  as  the  food  of  plants,  and  at  the  same  time  the  difference  between  those' 
made  from  different  woods,  I  append  the  following  analyses  of  those  of  two  well-known  southern  trees. 
That  of  oak  ashes  is  by  Sprengel,  that  of  pitch-pine  ashes  by  Berthier: 


Constituents. 

Oak. 

Pitch-  Pine. 

Constituents. 

Oalc. 

Pitch-Pine. 

29-95 

7-50 

16  -°0 

Alumina  

Soda 

6  -73 

°0'7S> 

Oxide  of  Iron  
Oxide  of  Manganese 
Lime  

£      8-14 
17-38 

11-10 
2-75 

13  -TO 

Sulphuric  Acid  
1  Phosphoric  Acid  

3-36 
1-92 
°-41 

3-45 
0-90        , 

Magnesia  

1-44 

4-35 

Carbonic  Acid  

15-47 

17-50 

||  This  fact  I  consider  an  important  hint  to  the  planters  of  the  tide-water  zone,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  tnat; 
it  is  one  which  will  not  be  thrown  away.  Leached  ashes  are  valuable  also  on  every  other  class  of  lands. 
The  southern  portion  of  my  farm  (lying  on  Chemung  rocks)  is  silicious.  The  northern  part  is  covered: 
with  "  northern  drift,"  and  is  therefore  calcareous.  I  use  from  3,500  to  4,000  bushels  of  leached  ashes  per 
annum,  without  any  discrimination  as  regards  the  soil,  and  on  almost  every  variety  of  crops,  and  invariably 
with  marked  advantage.  Doct.  Emmons,  our  State  Geologist,  having  in  charge  the  volumes  ou  Agriculture, 
stated  to  me  that  he  considered  these  leached  ashes  far  more  valuable  by  bulk  than  a  rich  marl  (accessible 
to  me)  containing  90  per  cent  of  carbonate  of  lime. 

§  This  word  ("reclaim")  has  a  provincial  signification  throughout  the  North,  when  applied  to  land.  It; 
means  "to  render  productive."  Unlike  the  words  "fertilize,"  "enrich."  etc.,  it  implies  degree  as  well  a 9. 
manner.  To  "  reclaim  "  land,  therefore,  is  to  fertilize  or  enrich  it  to  such  a  degree  that  it  will  yield  fair 
crops.  I  shall  use  the  word  both  as  a  verb  and  a  noun,  to  avoid  the  circumlocution  otherwise  necessarv 
to  express  this  idea. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  N  THE  SOUTH. 


whole  Tertiary  formation,  or  at  least  that  portion  of  it  extending  through 
the  Atlantic  States.  The  second  is  the  swamp  mud,  which,  rich  with  the 
alluvial  deposition  of  ages,  fills  nearly  every  depression  of  the  surface  ca 
pable  of  retaining  water,  in  the  whole  tide-water  zone. 

Mr.  Ruffiri  recommends  the  former  as  the  best  and  most  attainable  fer- 
tilizer on  both  of  the  classes  of  soils  under  examination.  He  seems  to 
think  it  adequate,  of  itself,  to  their  full  and  permanent  amelioration.  I  do 
not  desire  a  word  which  I  shall  say  to  bear,  or  even  seem  to  bear,  a  con- 
troversial tone  toward  the  views  of  this  ardent  and  enlightened  friend  of 
Southern  Agriculture.  In  expressing  my  dissent  from  them,  my  limits 
and  the  occasion  only  permit  me  to  allude  to  a  few  well-settled  principle'? 
arid  facts  on  which  I  have  based  my  opinions.  Lime  acts  mechanically 
and  chemically  on  soils.  It  stiffens  loose  and  opens  clayey  ones.  It  is 
to  a  certain  extent,  one  of  the  necessary  constituents  of  plants  ;  it  neutral 
izes  acid  substances  in  'the  soil;  it  forms  compounds,  and  promotes  the 
dissolution  of  existing  ones,  to  prepare  suitable  food  for  plants  ;  and  some- 
times produces  certain  other  minor  beneficial  effects.  But  its  great,  its 
chief  object,  is  to  produce  the  food  of  plants  by  its  chemical  action  on  the 
organic  matter  in  the  soil.  Hence,  says  Johnston  : 

"  Lime  has  little  or  no  effect  npon  soils  in  which  organic  matter  is  deficient;"  and  he  far- 
ther says  :  "  Under  the  influence  of  lime  the  organic  matter  disappears  more  rapidly  than  it 
otherwise  would  do,  and  that  after  it  has  thus  disappeared,  fresh  additions  of  lime  produce 
no  farther  good  effect  ;  ...  it  causes  the  organic  matter  itself  ultimately  to  disappear." 

"  It  is  scarcely  practicable,"  says  Brown,  '  to  restore  fertility  to  land  even  of  the  best 
natural  quality,  which  has  been  thus  abused  ;  and  thin  moorish  soils,  after  being  exhausted 
by  lime,  ar^  not  to  be  restored." 

"An  overdose  of  shell  marl,"  says  Lord  Kaimes,  "laid  perhaps  an  inch  thick,  produce* 
for  a  time  large  crops,  but  at  last  renders  the  soil  capable  of  bearing  neither  corn  (grain)  noi 
grass,  of  which  there  are  many  examples  in  Scotland:"  "  The  same,"  continues  Johnston. 
""  is  true  of  lime  in  any  form.  The  increased  fertility  continues  as  long  as  there  remains  mj 
adequate  supply  .of  organic  (animal  and  vegetable)  matter  in  the  soil  ;  but  as  that  disappears, 
the  crops  every  year  diminish  both  in  quantity  and  in  qxiality." 

"  On  poor  arable  lands,  which  are  not  naturally  so,  but  which  are  worn  out  or  exhausted 
'by  repeated  liming  and  cropping,  lime  produces  no  good  whatever."  (Anderson,  Brown. 
Morton.)* 

Let  us  now  turn  to  the  opinions  of  some  of  the  most  eminent  European 
Continental  writers.  The  celebrated  Thaer  in  his  "  Principles  of  Agricul- 
ture "  (Section  IV.  Part  I.)  says  : 

"  On  no  soils  are  the  effects  of  lime  BO  beneficial  as  on  those  which  contain  a  great  quan- 
tity of  sour  humus  prejudicial  to  vegetation,  or  on  those  v/hich  have  been  supplied  more  or 
'less  abundantly  with  animal  manure  for  a  considerable  period,  without  receiving  an  appli- 
cation of  lime,  or  some  other  substance  of  a  similar  nature.  In  the  latter  case  it  is  frequently 
much  more  efficacious  than  an  amelioration  of  stable  manure  would  be  ;  but  it  soon  impoy. 
erishes  the  soil  so  much  that  in  a  few  years  it  becomes  indispensably  necessary  to  manure  it 
abundantly  with  rich  animal  or  vegetable  matters.  As  some  portion  of  the  humus,  al- 
though in  all  probability  of  an  insoluble  nature,  always  remains  in  arable  lam  I  even  when  it 
appears-  to  be  much  exhausted,  it  of  course  follows  that  an  application  of  lime  will  always 
be  productive  of  very  marked  effects  even  on  the  poorest  soils,  because  it  will  call  into  ac- 
tion all  the  nutritive  particles  which  they  contain.  A  second  amendment  of  a  similar  nature 
bestowed  shortly  after  the  first,  will  be  productive  of  some,  although  in  general  of  much  less 
benefit  ;  and  the  effect  of  each  subsequent  amelioration  of  this  nature  will  be  progressively 
diminished  unless  the  soil  receives  an  additional  supply  of  humus.  .  .  .  The  effect  pro- 
duced by  lime  on  land  of  this  nature  (reclaimed  bogs  and  marshes)  is  much  more  beneficial 
•and  durable  than  that  of  any  other  manure.  On  the  other  hand,  repealed  ameliorations  of 
lime  will  soon  totally  exhaust  and  impoverish  poor  and  sandy  soils,  and  reduce  them  to  ab- 
solute sterility,  even  though  each  separate  application  seems  to  be  productive  of  some  good 
effect.  .  .  .  Many  persons  who  have  not  rightly  comprehended  the  cause  of  the  effects 
produced  by  lime,  prefer  it  to  manure,  and  have  believed  in  the  possibility  of  doing  entirely 
without  the  latter  ;  but  the  total  exhaustion  of  the  soil  winch  such  a  course  of  proceeding 
•*nust  sooner  or  later  produce,  caused  them  to  fly  to  the  opposite  extreme.  .  .  .  An  ea> 

•*  See  Johnston's  Agricultural  Chemistry,  vol.  ii.  p.  139-142. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  61* 


lightened  and  scientific  agriculturist  will  soon  perceive  tHt  the  use  of  lime  can  never  super 
sede  that  of  dung,  but  that  it  renders  this  kind  of  manure  more  energetic  in  its  action.  .  _.  . 

In  many  places  where  its  ameliorating  effects  were  known  and  appreciated,  many  agricul- 
turists have  calculated  that  marl  would  prove  a  cheaper  manure  than  stable  dung ;  and 
have,  consequently,  determined  to  do  without  the  latter  altogether ;  and,  therefore,  have 
diminished  their  stock  of  cattle,  and  sold  their  hay  and  straw.  It  may  easily  be  imagined 
that  as  soon  as  the  chemical  effects  of  the  marl  ceased  to  operate,  as  must  be  the  case  when 
the  land  no  longer  contained  undecomposed  or  insoluble  substances,  the  soil  became  sterile, 
and  a  second  marling  was  incapable  of  producing  any  beneficial  effects,  there  being  no  hu- 
mus for  it  to  act  upon." 

Petzholdt,  in  his  "  Lectures  to  Farmers  on  Agricultural  Chemistry," 
(Lecture  X  VII.)  says  : 

"  Quick -lime  greatly  accelerates  the  decomposition  of  humus,  whether  of  animal  or  vege 
table  origin,  inducing  a  more  speedy  liberation  of  its  salts  than  would  otherwise  take  place. 
This  is  the  reason  quick-lime  has  proved  so  advantageous  in  the  cultivation  of  bogs ;  the 
lime  not  only  accelerates  the  decomposition  of  the  humus,  but  it  may  be  said  altogether  to 
be  the  cause  of  the  decay  of  humus,  which,  as  it  exists  in  peat,  is  scarcely  by  itself  under- 
going the  process  at  all.  .  .  .  Where  there  is  neither  humus  in  the  soil,  nor  undecom- 
posed silicates,  the  application  of  lime  as  manure  will  be  useless.  ...  So  much,  how- 
ever, is  deducible  from  all  experience,  that  the  mere  application  of  marl  to  an  exhausted  soil 
is  of  no  use  whatever,  unless  it  is  earned  on  the  field  in  such  quantities  as  to  constitute  a 
new  soil,  covering  the  whole  surface  to  the  depth  of  a  foot.  ...  In  a  chemical  point  of 
view,  marl  is  not  of  any  value  except  where  tke  soil  requires  a  supply  of  lime.  .  .  Tha 
other  minei-al  constituents  of  marl  are  far  too  inconsiderable  in  amount  to  be  reckoned  upon.' J 

Chaptal,  in  his  "  Chemistry  applied  to  Agriculture,"  (Chap,  iii.,  Art.  2,) 
thus  expresses  himself : 

"  It  is  acknowledged  that  lime  is  principally  useful  upon  fallow  lands  which  are  broken 
up ;  upon  grass  lands,  whether  natural  or  artificial,  which  are  prepared  for  cultivation :  and 
upon  muddy  lands,  which  are  to  be  put  into  a  fit  state  for  culture.  It  is  well  known  that  in 
all  these  cases  there  exists  in  the  land  a  greater  or  less  quantity  of  roots,  which,  by  the  ap- 
plication of  lime,  may  be  made  to  serve  more  immediately  for  manure,  by  the  solubility  it 
will  give  to  the  new  products  formed  by  them.  .  .  .  Independently  of  this  effect,  which, 
in  my  opinion,  is  the  most  important,  lime  exercises  other  powers,  which  make  it  a  very 
valuable  agent  in  Agriculture." 

These  authorities  might  be  multiplied  ad  injinitum. 

On  the  alternately  too  loose  or  too  hard  soils  of  the  dry  and  barren  lands 
of  the  tide-water  zone,  lime  would  doubtless  have  two  salutary  effects — 
the  mechanical  one  already  noticed,  and  it  would  furnish  one  necessary 
food  of  plants.  But  of  its  power  to  render  these  soils,  or  the  exhausted 
ones  of  the  middle  zone,  anything  more  than  transiently  fertile,  there  is  no 
probability,  if  they  are,  as  I  suppose  them  to  be,  generally  rather,  and 
sometimes  very,  destitute  of  organic  matter.  This  destitution  I  infer  from 
ocular  examination  ;*  also  from  the  fact  that  they  are  covered  with  little 
vegetation,  with  the  exception  of  the  long-leaf  pine,  to  produce  by  its  an- 
nual decay  a  store  of  organic  matter;  and,  finally,  if  this  organic  matter 
existed  in  these  soils  in  any  considerable  quantity,  they  would  not  be  ster- 
ile. They  probably  possess  the  ordinary  inorganic  constituents  of  dry 
Tertiary  and  granitic  soils,  and  no  properties  directly  deleterious  to  vege- 
tation. Organic  matter,  then,  in  my  judgment,  is  what  they  principally 
stand  in  need  of  to  render  them  fertile.  Now,  by  applying  lime  to  them, 
it  would  undoubtedly  do  good  t  in  two  ways,  as  before  admitted;  but  the 
considerable  temporary  apparent  amelioration,  as  evinced  in  some  instances 
Ly  the  increased  growth  of  vegetation,  is  factitious,  for  the  lime  is  only  act- 
ing with  and  exhausting  the  little  organic  matter  in  the  soil,  to  leave  it  to 
greater  eventual  sterility.  Hence  the  saying  that  "  lime  enriches  the  father 
but  impoverishes  the  son,"  is  a  true  one  when  the  lime  is  applied  to  soils 
possessing  but  a  small  proportion  of  organic  matter.  On  such,  lime  soon 

*  I  have  seen  no  analyses  of  these  soils,  and  mean  therefore  as  I  say,  simply,  examination  by  the  eye 


'0  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


leads  to  exhaustion,  unless  organic  matter  is  added  to  the  soil  in  projjortion 
to  the  waste.  The  theoretical  and  practical  considerations  which  should 
govern  in  the  application  of  this  fertilizer  to  soils  are  discussed  more  fully 
aiid,  in  my  judgment,  more  ably  by  Johnston,  in  his  Agricultural  Chem- 
istry, than  by  any  other  writer.  To  him  I  take  the  liberty  to -refer  you. 

Marl  raised  from  pits,  as  it  must  necessarily  be  (except  when  denuded, 
or  cut  through,  on  the  beds  of  streams,  &c.)  where  it  occurs  only  as  au 
under-stratum  in  a  flat  country — where  the  pits,  too,  often  require  ma- 
chiiiery,  or  much  manual  labor,  to  keep  them  free  from  water  while  work- 
ing— must  be  an  expensive  manure.  From  its  tendency  to  sink  in  the  soil 
it  is  not  so  permanent  a  one  as  would  naturally  be  expected.  On  reclaimed 
swarnp  lands — as,  for  example,  on  tiie  rice  lands — abounding  in  vegetable 
matter,  it  will  be  found  a  most  efficacious  manure,  and,  when  needed,  will 
repay  the  necessary  outlay  ;  but  I  fear  it  will  be  found  otherwise  ultimate- 
ly, if  not  immediately,  on  the  barren  sands  and  exhausted  granite  soils  of 
the  South.  Applied  with  swamp  mud,  it  would  constitute  a  fertilizer 
scarcely,  perhaps,  admitting  of  a  superior,  even  on  the  latter  soils.  In 
their  single  effects,  however,  I  cannot  but  believe  that  the  best  swamp  mud 
— that  which  is  black  arid  fetid  by  the  long  continued  accumulation  of  or- 
ganic substances  (and  especially  if  charged  with  shells,  and  the  shields  of 
Infusoria) — would  be  worth  more  per  load  than  the  richest  marl.  The 
mud,  too,  should  be  considerably  cheaper  than  the  marl,  no  deep  excava- 
tions being  required  to  obtain  it.*  Digging  and  draught,  and,  in  the  case 
of  the  mu»d,  draught  alone,  would  render  both  decidedly  expensive  ma- 
nures, relatively  to  the  value  of  the  land  after  being  ameliorated  by  them, 
even  assuming  that  amelioration  to  be  complete  and  permanent.  On  lands 
immediately  contiguous  to  conveniently  reached  depositions  of  mud  or 
marl,  on  a  scale  so  limited  that  it  could  be  carried  on  at  spare  intervals 
without  encroaching  on  the  regular  routine  of  plantation  labor,  it  might 
be  good  economy  to  haul  out  mud  and  marl,  and  thus  gradually  reclaim 
small  pieces  of  laiid.f  It  certainly  would  be  better  economy  than  to  waste 
those  intervals  in  idleness.  But  in  anything  like  an  extended  and  speedy 
system  of  reclamation — the  fertilization  of  thirty,  forty  or  fifty  acres  per 
annum,  instead  of  one,  two  or  three — the  means  above  adverted  to  are,  in 
my  humble  judgment,  utterly  out  of  the  question.  The  labor  would,  ab- 
sorb all  the  labor  of  man  and  beast  on  the  plantation  ;  and  it  is  exceedingly 
questionable,  in  my  mind,  whether  the  land,  when  fertilized,  would  sell  for 
the  cost  of  the  manure. 

Hard  would  it  be  for  many  a  South  Carolinian  or  Virginian  to  turn  his 
back  on  the  Lares  and  Penates  of  his  race — forgetting  many  a  proud  local 
and  ancestral  association — but  as  a  question  of  dollars  and  cents,  some- 
times a  necessary  one,  and,  at  all  events,  usually  the  paramount  one,'  1 
think  it  past  a  reasonable  doubt  that  it  would  be  better  economy  to  de- 
sert the  worn-out  or  naturally  barren  soils  of  our  South-eastern  coast,  and 
purchase  the  virgin  and  fertile  lands  of  the  South-west  (even  including 
the  extra  expense  of  building  and  fencing),  than  to  attempt  to  reclaim  the 
former  by  means  so  expensive  as  those  above  indicated. 

What,  then,  is  the  resort?  Are  there  any  means  by  which  those  lands 
can  be  profitably  reclaimed  ?  I  answer,  Yes  ;  and  the  resort  is  a  mixed 
system  of  green  arid  animal  manuring — the  latter  made  attainable  by  sheep 
husbandry.  Experience  is  the  best  test  of  all  theories.  And  we  have  had 

*  I  am  inclined  to  think,  however,  that  this  mud,  it"  sprrnd  directly  on  tho  surface,  would  contaminate 
the  atmosphere  with  unhealthy  miasma,  generating  agues  and  bilic't.i  diseases.  If  so,  it  would  require  in- 
corporation with  the  soil,  hy  plowing.  . 

t  It  seems  to  me,  however,  that  these  expensive  manures  would  he  more  profitably  applied  in  krfpmg 
up  the  fertility  of  the  best  lands,  or  as  assistants  to  other  and  cheaper  means  of  reclaiming  the  poor  ones- 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOtTiH.  71 


80  little  experience  in  the  premises,  in  our  own  country,  let  us  turn  to  that 
of  the  first  agricultural  nation  of  the  Old  World.  There  is  no  foreign  na- 
tion where  so  high  a  degree  of  intelligence  is  brought  to  bear  on  farming 
operations — where  cause  and  effect  are  so  carefully  studied  and  accurately 
noted — as  in  England.  This  care  and  accuracy  are  indispensably  neces- 
sary in  a  country  where  high  rent  and  heavy  taxation  render  good  farming 
or  bankruptcy  unavoidable  counter-alternations  to  the  agriculturist.  Pre- 
vailing conclusions  among  such  a  class  of  agriculturists — undisputed  con- 
clusions, too — are  assuredly  entitled  to  great  respect,  and  may  almost  be 
regarded  as  settled  facts.  Now  the  farmers  of  England  are  perfectly  fa 
miliar  with  every  kind  of  manure  accessible  to  our  Southern  farmers,  un- 
less it  be  swamp  mud  and  cotton  seed.  Lime,  for  example,  is  plentiful 
and  cheap,  and  is  much  used  in  Agriculture  all  over  the  kingdom.  If 
either  this,  or  any  of  the  manures  of  commerce,  were  considered,  of  them- 
selves, economical  fertilizers  of  the  poor,  sandy  or  light  upland  soils  of 
England,  there  is  no  country  in  the  world  where  they  are  more  plentiful, 
and,  when  the  use  of  the  soil  and  the  price  of  products  are  taken  into  con- 
sideration, more  cheap. 

What  the  settled  conclusions  of  the  English  farmers  are,  in  relation  to 
the  profitable  amelioration  of  those  soils,  will  be  seen  from  the  following 
undisputed  testimony  of  some  of  the  most  eminent  and  respectable  of  them, 
taken  before  the  Committee  of  the  House  of  Lords,  charged  with  the  in- 
quiry into  the  state  of  the  wool  trade,  &c.  in  Great  Britain,  in  1828,  from 
which  I  have  so  freely  quoted  in  preceding  Letters. 

Mr.  WILJ.IAM  FINKNEY,  Salisbury  Plain:  Land  such  as  I  occupy  could  not  be  main 
tained  without  the  aid  of  sheep.  .  .  .  The  sheep  are  our  principal  dependence  for  suj> 
porting  our  crops  ;  indeed,  I  could  not  occupy  my  farm  without  my  flock. 

Mr.""  JOHN  ELLMAN,  Jr.,  Sussex  :  I  do  not  consider  it  possible  for  the  light  lands  upon 
the  Downs  to  be  kept  in  cultivation  without  flocks.  I  could  not  keep  the  farm  I  now  hold 
without  sheep.  .  .  On  the  South  Downs  the  wool  must  be  grown,  let  the  price  foe 
what  it  will. 

Mi .  FRANCIS  HALE,  Alringham,  Suffolk  :  The  description  of  land  I  occupy  could  not  be 
kept  in  cultivation  without  the  aid  of  sheep. 

Mr.  HENRY  KING,  Chilmark,  Wiltshire  :  The  size  of  my  farm  is  about  4.000  acres.  I 
clip  annually  about  G,500  South-Down  sheep.  .  .  .  Such  lands  as  I  occupy  cannot  be 
kept  in  cultivation  without  the  aid  of  sheep. 

Mr.  JOHN  WOOLLEDGE,  near  Bury  St.  Edmunds,  Sriffolk :  An  estate  near  the  aboyjj 
place  contains  8,890  acres,  let  to  tenants,  and  consists  principally  of  poor  sandy  and  gravelly 
land,  the  produce  of  which  in  grain  is  very  precarious,  amounting  in  dry  summers  to  little 
or  nothing.  The  occupiers,  therefore,  depend  almost  entirely  on  their  flocks  of  sheep  for  the 
payment  of  their  rents  and  the  employment  and  support  of  the  population.  ...  I  am 
of  opinion  that  two-thirds  of  the  counties  of  Suffolk  and  Norfolk  may  be  comprehended  in 
the  sheep  districts,  and  that  they  produce  two  pounds  and  a  half  of  wool,  and  three-fourths 
of  a  lamb,  to  the  acre,  upon  an  average.  .  .  .  The  produce  of  the  land  depends  materi- 
ally upon  the  folding  system ;  there  is  not  sufficient  straw  for  manure  without  the  assistance 
of  sheep. 

Mr.  WILLIAM  ILOTT,  Alley  Milton,  Dorsetshire  :  I  calculate  the  annual  growth  of  wooJ 
in  Dorsetshire  at  10,000  pack's  of  246  Ibs.  each.  It  is  estimated  .  .  .  that  800,000  sheep,  or 
one  sheep  and  one-seventh  per  acre,  .  .  .  are  kept  in  this  county.  A  considerable  part  of 
the  county  of  Dorset  is  composed  of  light  lands,  and  can  only  be  kept  in  tillage  by  the  aid 
of  sheep. 

C.  C.  WESTERN,  Esq. :  It  is  utterly  impossible  that  the  Down  Districts  can  be  cultivate^ 
to  advantage  without  sheep.  We  never  fold  our  Merino  or  other  sheep ;  the  land  is  too  wet. 

LORD  NAPIER  :  If  we  had  not  sheep  upon  our  lands  (the  highlands  of  Scotland),  it  would 
become  the  habitation  of  foxes  and  snipes,  and  return  to  waste ;  it  would  produce  nothing 
but  grouse  and  wild  game  of  different  sorts. 

Is  it  asked,  Why  are  sheep  preferred  to  horned  cattle  ]  Many  of  the 
reasons  are  given  in  my  preceding  Letter.  Then,  again,  the  scanty  and 
short  pasturage  of  light  lands,  on  which  sheep  will  thrive,  will  not  afford 
sufficient  "  bite"  (as  it  is  provincially  termed  in  the  Northern  States)  to 


72  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

profitably  carry  large  stock.  And,  finally,  there  seems  to  be  a  settled  con- 
viction among  the  English  farmers  that  sheep  give  a  better  return  for  the 
food  consumed,  and  therefore  better  repay  the  extraordinary  expenditure 
necessary  to  bring  poor  lands  in  a  fit  state  for  the  plow,  than  any  other 
animal.  In  an  able  essay  in  the  London  "  Plough"  (June,  1846),  the  fol- 
io wing  remarks  occur,  which  may  be  probably  regarded  as  an  expression 
of  the  prevailing  opinion  in  England  : 

It  is  justly  admitted  that,  of  all  the  domestic  animals  reared  and  fed  for  profit  in  Great 
Britain,  sheep  are  of  the  greatest  consequence,  both  individually  and  in  a  national  point  ot 
view,  and  afford  a  better  return  than  can  be  obtained  either  from  the  rearing  or  feeding  of 
cattle  ;  the  very  fleece  shorn  annually  from  their  backs  is  worthy  of  consideration. 
Sheep  husbandry  deserves  to  be  esteemed  in  all  its  different  branches,  and  claims  the  prior- 
ity of  coLnideration  among  agriculturists."* 

The  manner  in  which  the  "  very  fleece"  is  here  spoken  of,  shows  that 
wool  occupies  but  a  mere  subsidiary  place  in  making  up  the  profits  of 
English  sheep  husbandry.  I  know  many  intelligent  and  experienced  farm- 
ers in  this  country  who  think  sheep  feeding  more  profitable,  or  equally 
profitable,  with  cattle  feeding,  leaving  the  wool  out  of  the  account.! 

The  experience  of  the  English  farmers  accords  with  that  of  those  of  our 
Own  Northern  and  Eastern  States,  in  relation  to  the  superior  advantage? 
of  sheep  husbandry  on  poor  and  light  soils.  Observation  has  shown  both 
that  such  soils  do  not  profitably  carry  bullocks  or  other  large  animals,  and 
that  such  animals  are  poorer  manurers  than  sheep.  But  their  methods  of 
availing  themselves  of  the  advantages  of  this  husbandry  are  entirely  dis- 
similar. The  English  farmer  finds  mutton  and  grain  the  marketable  pro 
ducts  which  pay  best.  The  first  returns  a  profit  on  the  crop  (turnips) 
which  produces  it,  and  at  the  same  time  fits  the  land  for  the  latter.  The 
high  price  and  ready  sale  of  mutton  allows  the  English  farmer  to  force  the 
growth  of  turnips  on  poor  soils,  by  the  application  of  highly  condensed 
manures.!  In  the  fall  the  sheep  are  turned  upon  small  patches  of  them, 
surrounded  by  an  inclpsure  of  hurdles.  The  turnips  are  drawn,  sliced,  and 
laid  in  troughs  for  the  sheep.  "When  one  patch  is  consumed,  the  hurdles 
are  removed,  and  thus  the  field  is  gradually  passed  over — the  sheep  con- 
verting the  whole  crop  into  animal  products  and  manure.  The  land  is 
theti  plowed  for  grain,  and  a  succession  of  crops  are  taken  from  it.  By 
this  means  the  land  is  soon  reduced  to  its  former  level,  and  the  same  sys- 
tem is  again  entered  upon. 

*  After  reading  this  and  the  preceding  testimony,  one  cannot  look  back  without  a  smile  on  the  unac- 
countable monomania  of  that  excellent  man  and  public  benefactor,  Col.  John  Taylor,  in  relation  to  sheep, 
lu  one  of  the  essays  of  "Arator,"  he  says: 

41  My  conclusions  are  that  they  require  and  consume  far  more  food,  in  proportion  to  their  size,  than  any 
other  stock  ;  that  they  are  more  liable  to  disease  and  death  ;  and  that  they  cannot  be  made  a  profitable  ob- 
ject throughout  the  whole  extent  of  the  warm,  dry  climate  and  sandy  soil  of  the  United  States,  but  by  ban- 
tahing  tillage  from  vast  tracts  of  country."  .  .  .  «•  It  is  probable  that  the  hot  constitution  of  sheep  pro- 
daces  a  rapid  digestion,  and  that  insatiable  appetite,  by  which  the  fact  is  accounted  for  of  their  flourishing 
otily,  to  any  extent,  in  line  meadows  or  extensive  wildernesses.  If  this  voraciousness  is  not  gratiiied,  the 
animal  perishes  or  dwindles  ;  if  it  is.  he  depopulates  the  country  he  inhabits.  The  sheep  of  Spain  have 
kept  out  of  existence,  or  sent  out  of  it,  more  people  than  the  wild  beasts  of  the  earth  have  destroyed  from 
the  creation  ;  and  those  of  England  may  have  caused  a  greater  depopulation  than  all  her  extravagant  wars. 
It  may  be  owing  to  this  animal,  the  independence  of  one  country  is  almost  overthrown,  and  of  the  other 
tottering."  (!  !  !)  He  farther  expresses  the  opinion  that  England,  "  by  the  help  of  her  moisture  and  verdure, 
ean  raise  wool  cheaper  than  the  United  States."  (!) 

It  would  appear  that  Col.  Taylor  formed  all  his  conclusions  on  a  smal]  flock  kept  by  himself  They  ml/ 
have  been  a  bad  and  unthrifty  flock.  But  it  is  strongly  probable  that  he  was  influenced  by  deep-rooted 
prejudices,  imbibed  before  his  judgment  was  ripened,  or  his  experience  formed  ;  and  that  these,  unknown 
lo  himself,  warped  all  his  views.  I  can  account  in  no  other  way  for  the  evident  and  palpable  hallucination 
under  which  he  made  nearly  every  statement  in  his  Chapter  on  Sheep. 

.  f  A  gentleman  who  has  been  one  of  the  most  successful  feeders  of  cattle  and  sheep  in  this  State  (P.  N. 
Rust,  Esq.  of  Syracuse)  recently  remarked  to  me  in  conversation  that  he  had  invariably  found  that  sheep 
paid  better  for  feedinc;  than  cattle. 

J  Bone-dust,  and  frequently  guano  or  some  other  manure  with  it,  is  drilled  in  with  the  turnip  seed,  so 
that  much  cost  is  obviated  by  making  a  little  go  a  <jr£at  ways  ;  and  there  is  a  remarkable  congeniality  ia 
the  clr'mate  and  atmosphere  of  England  to  the  growth  c "  this  root. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  73 

In  the  United  States,  much  of  this  system  would  be  inapplicable  and 
unprofitable.  Here  wool,  instead  of  mutton,  is  the  principal  object.  Even 
in  the  Southern  States,  where  the  climate  would  render  the  English  sys- 
tem practicable,  the  expense  of  producing  either  of  these  articles,  by  win- 
ter turnip  feeding  arid  folding,  would  add  so  much  to  its  cost  that  it  con  Id 
not  profitably  compete  with  that  grown  in  the  ordinary  manner.  The 
same  remark  applies  to  the  relative  expense  of  the  two  systems  of  manur- 
ing. A  constant  repletion  of  rich  succulent  food,  like  turnips,  would  sen- 
sibly increase  the  amount  of  manure,  and,  by  folding,  it  would  be  moie 
evenly  distributed.  But  neither  of  these  considerations  would  begin  to 
offset  against  the  increased  expense,  in  a  country  where  good  lands  are  so 
cheap  and  bread-stuffs  so  low.  Besides,  no  good,  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
positive  injury,  would  result  from  thus  annually  fattening  "store"*  sheep, 
kept  for  the  production  of  wool  and  for  breeding.! 

The  system  of  improving  poor  lands  in  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States 
by  sheep  husbandry,  is  mainly  by  summer  pasturage.  The  droppings  of 
the  sheep  gradually  enrich  them,J  and  consequently  increase  their  herb- 
age. Thus,  in  a  few  years,  poor  and  scanty  pastures  are  converted  into 
rich,  productive  ones.  This  might  be  far  more  rapidly  done  by  giving 
these  pastures  also  the  winter  manure  of  the  sheep,  made  in  the  feeding 
yards.  But  it  is  generally  thought  more  profitable  to  give  the  winter  ma- 
nure to  the  richer  tillage  lands,  which  are  made  to  supply  the  grain  and 
hay  of  the  farm.  The  light  pasture  lands  are  thus  kept  permanently  in 
pasture  or  are  only  plowed,  by  the  provident,  at  very  long  intervals.  This 
system  is  rendered  necessary,  or,  at  all  events,  convenient,  by  the  topo- 
graphical features  of  our  farms.  Here  the  poorer  and  lighter  are  generally 
:he  higher  and  more  broken  lands,  which  are  less  convenient  of  aration. 
and  for  the  hauling  on  of  manure,  or  the  hauling  off  of  crops. 

In  the  Southern  States,  on  lands  which  now  yield  even  a  smallish  sup- 
ply of  esculent  grasses,  the  northern  system  is  all  that  is  necessarily  re- 
quired. Those  grasses  will  every  year  increase,  and  the  land  will  be  grad- 
ually fertilized,  by  the  droppings  of  the  sheep,  without  a  cent's  expendi- 
ture on  it  of  any  kind  ;  and  every  particle  of  herbage  will  be  turned  to  its 
most  profitable  account,  by  being  converted  into  wool,  mutton  and  ma- 
nure. 

But  where  there  is  not  sufficient  existing  verdure  to  form  the  germ,  so 
to  speak,  of  a  future  good  pasture — or,  in  other  words,  to  support  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  sheep  to  convert  it,  within  a  reasonable  time,  into,  good 
pasturage — some  other  course  must  be  adopted.  Proper  plowing  and 
seeding,  simply,  will,  I  have  not  a  doubt,  be  found  adequate  in  a  great 
many  instances  where  it  would  hardly  be  suspected.  It  is  very  natural  to 
take  it  for  granted  that  a  soil,  not  spontaneously  producing  the  grasses,  is 
not  fertile  enough  to  produce  them,  even  if  properly  sown  upon  it.  But 
experience  has  amply  demonstrated  the  contrary  in  several  of  the  North- 
western States.  There  are  various  causes,  besides  a  want  of  fertility, 
which  may  produce  such  nudity ;  but  this  is  not  the  place  to  enter  upon 
speculations  on  this  topic.  Two  very  common  and  obvious  causes  are  too 
great  looseness  or  compactness  of  the  surface,  which  prevents  seeds  from 
taking  root,  especially  in  a  dry,  hot  climate.  Plowing  would  always  loosen 

*  This  convenient  word  is  provincially  applied,  in  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States,  to  sheep  nnd  pwinc 
which  are  to  be  kept  over  the  year,  to  breed  from  (and  the  former  to  produce  wool),  as  contradistinguished 
from  those  which  are  fattening  for  slaughter. 

t  This  point  will  again  be  adverted  to.  It  is  sufficient  now  to  eny  that  breeding-ewes,  if  brought  to  a  higt 
Mate  of  fatness,  raise  fewer  lambs.  The  lambs  are  bom  weak,  and  are  very  apt  to  perish.  There  are  alsc 
other  objections. 

J  Aided  by  an  occasional  top-dressing  with  gypsum. 

K  . 


74    •         SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


hard,  and  frequently  stiffen  loose  surfaces.*  The  grass  seed  harrowed  into 
a  properly  prepared  soil,  at  the  suitable  season  of  the  year,  might  so  root 
itself  as  to  withstand  the  subsequent  heats,  while  those  dropped  on  a  hard 
or  a  loose  surface  by  birds,  or  borne  there  by  winds,  would  be  exposed 
directly  to  the  rays  of  the  sun,  which,  if  it  did  not  entirely  prevent  germ- 
ination, would  dry  up  and  kill  the  tender  roots  before  they  could  strike 
deep  enough  to  resist  its  influence.  Much  will  depend,  in  this  experi- 
ment, upon  a  proper  selection  of  the  variety  of  grass  sown.  That  variety 
should  be  sown  which  is  found  to  flourish  best  on  similar  soils,  in  the  same 
climate,  even  though  relatively  it  may  be  an  inferior  grass.t 

By  means  as  cheap  and  attainable  as  these,  I  have  not  a  doubt  that  no 
inconsiderable  portions  of  the  nearly  naked  soils  of  the  lide-WLier  zone 
might  be  brought  into  pasture  sufficiently  good  to  make  their  ultimate  con- 
version into  prime  pastures,  by  means  of  sheep  husbandry,  certain. 

On  the  worn-out  granite  soils  of  th«  middle  region,  the  once  fertile  red 
clay  lands — now  occupied  only  by  dwarf  pines,  worthless  broom-grass,  etc. 
— deep  plowing  and  thorough  sowing  (with'  the  aid  of  steeps  and  the  cheap 
top-dressing,  before  adverted  to)  would  generally,  I  believe,  bring  these 
lands  into  pretty  good  pasture.  These  soils,  having  been  subjected  only 
to  the  one-horse  plow,  and  hand  tillage,  are  worn  out  only  on  the  surface, 
This  is  proved,  in  innumerable-  instances,  in  Fairfax,  and  other  northern 
counties  of  Virginia.  Lands  considered  entirely  worn  out,  and  sold  for  a 
mere  trifle,  are  subjected  to  the  northern  two-horse  plow,  and  from  one  to 
three  inches  of  earth,  never  before  disturbed,  is  brought  to  the  surface, 
which  readily  supports  grass,  and  even  grain  crops — the  latter  tempora- 
rily. Thus,  most  fortunately,  the  means  are  still  left,  with  the  aid  D!'  pas- 
turage, to  make  many  of  these  lands  profitably  productive,  and  to  restore 
them  to  much  of  their  former  fertility. 

We  come  now  to  another  class  of  lands  which  may,  in  many  cases,  be 
worth  reclaiming,  but  which  will  not,  by  merely  being  plowed  and  sown, 
produce  sufficient  grass  to  make  their  fertilization  by  sheep  husbandry  at- 
tainable— or  attainable  within  a  moderate  period  of  time.  These  are  thti 
inferior  (but  not  the  worst)  sands  of  the  tide-water  zone.  Here  green 
manuring  must  be  resorted  to,  by  means  of  plants  which  will  better  with' 
stand  the  climatic  and  other  difficulties  in  the  way  of  their  getting  well- 
rooted,  and  which  will  flourish  in  poorer  soils  than  the  grasses.  Both  of 
these  conditions  are  answered  by  various  plants.  Spurry  (  Spergula  arvcn- 
ftisj  and  white  Lupins  ( Lupinus  albus)  will  flourish  on  dry,  barren,  and 
even  shifting  sands,  and  are  extensively  used  as  green  manuring  crops  on 
such  soils,  on  the  Continent  of  Europe.  From  their  rapid  growth  and  ex- 
traordinary productiveness,  they  are  admirably  adapted  to  this  end.  The 
introduction  of  these  plants  would  probably  supply  an  important  desidera- 
tum in  Southern  Agriculture,  unless,  as  I  have  already  expressed  the  opin- 
ion,! the  pea  leaves  little  to  wish  for,  as  a  green  manuring  crop  on  every 
class  of  southern  soils.  Soaked  in  a  solution  of  nitre — rolled  in  lime — top- 
dressed,  after  sprouting,  with  a  slight  sprinkling  of  ashes  and  gypsumjj  — 

*  The  sands  of  the  tide-water  zone  aro  everywhere,  at  greater  or  less  depths,  underlaid  by  clay.  Thes« 
might  in  some  cases  be  reached  by  the  plow,  and  portions  of  them  incorporated  with  the  superincumbent 
soil 

t  See  Letter  III.  }  In  Letter  III. 

||  Sprengel's  analysis,  in  Letter-Ill.,  chows  the  larc;e  amount  of  potash  required  for  the  seed,  and  of  lime 
fat"  the;  straw  of  the  pea.  The  favorable  effect  of  plaster  on  this,  as  on  most  other  IcguminosiB,  is  wel' 
known.  Ashes,  plaster  and  lime  can  be  purchased  here  at  an  average  of  less  than  ten  cents  a  bushel.  A 
bushel  of  gypsum,  mixed  with  say  two  bushels  of  ashes,  makes  a  top-dressing  which  will  pay  for  itself  a 
number  of"  times  over,  on  any  land  to  which  I  have  ever  seen  it.  applied.  In  addition  to  rolling  the  seed  in 
•iine,  a  few  bushels  of  it,  or  of  marl,  would  ma!<e  a  good,  and,  where  accessible  and  cheap,  an  economical 
top-dressing.  When  I  speak  uf  the  price  of  lime  here,  I  do  not  refer  to  marl.  The  lutler,  in  Its  natural 
•lute,  could  be  purchased  at  the  beds  lor  probably  a  sin"  .ing  a  load. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


the  pea  would  probably  take  root  and  flourish  in  any  soil  whicr.  the  price 
of  land  in  this  country  would  justify  an  effort  to  render  productive,  novr, 
or  for  a  long  term  of  years  to  come.  Indeed,  the  capacity  to  produce  this 
plant  may  afford  the  best  practical  test  of  the  economy  and  expediency  of 
attempting  it  in  any  given  case.  If  a  good  green  manuring  crop  can  bo 
made  to  grow  on  the  soil  without  any  more  expensive  aids  than  those 
above  suggested,  the  lever  of  improvement — cheap,  but  effectual — is  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  planter,  and,  if  he  possesses  the  least  degree  of  energy, 
\o  has  no  occasion  to  seek  a  new  soil  and  home  by  emigration. 

Mr.  Ruffin  states,  if  I  remember  aright,  that  a  few  quarts  per  acre,  of 
peas,  are  sown  by  the  Southern  planters.  In  the  North,  three  bushels,  at 
least,  are  sown;  and  this  quantity  would  be  little  enough  to  pioduce  the 
largest  amount  of  green  manure. 

Theory  would  indicate  that  the  crop  should  be  turned  under  before  it 
comes  into  full,  flower,*  but  experience  and  convenience  both  deserve  con- 
sulting in  the  premises. 

An  active  span  of  horses,  with  a  Northern  two-horse  plow,  and  an  ex- 
pert plowman,  would  readily  plow  two  acres  per  diem,  on  sandy  soils,  and 
plow  it  well.t  The  expense  of  getting  in  a  crop  of  peas  can  then  be  read- 
ily estimated. 

If  one  crop  can  be  made  to  take  root  and  grow,  and  is  plowed  under 
when  green,  the  great  point  is  attained,  and  there  will  be  neither  difficulty 
nor  uncertainty  subsequently.  The  organic  matter  thus  deposited  in  the 
&oil  is  the  basis  on  which  future  improvements  can  be  effected  ad  libitum. 
As  far  south  as  South  Carolina,  at  least  two,  and  probably  three  crops 
co-Aid  be  plowed  in  during  a  single  season.  This  might  be  done  in  time 
for  winter  grain,  and  a  crop  of  the  latter  sown  as  a  covering  crop  with 
grass  seeds.  The  grain  would  refund  much  of  the  previous  expense. 

Plowing  in  two  or  three  crops  in  succession  may,  at  first  view,  seem  an 
expensive,  process ;  but,  with  the  exception  of  the  extra  seeding,  it  is  no 
more  labor  than  is  bestowed  on  every  wheat  crop  by  a  large  proportion  of 
the  farmers  of  Western  New-York !  When  the  ground  is  summer  fal- 
lowed, the  ordinary  practice  on  our  wheat  lands  is  to  have  it  three  times 
thoroughly  plowed  and  harrowed,  and  the  first  time  a  crop  of  clover  is 
plowed  in.  All  this  is  a  light  outlay  compared  with  thorough  marling,  or 
manuring  with  swamp  mud.  And,  after  either  of  the  latter  processes,  the 
land  has  yet  to  be  plowed  and  seeded.f 

It  would  not  be  necessary  to  plow  in  as  many  as  three  crops  of  peas,  to 
'ay  the  foundation  of  ordinary  pasture.  Two,  and  possibly  one,  would 
suffice.  The  comparative  utility  of  forcing  forward  the  fertilization  of 
land,  rapidly  or  gradually,  depends  much  upon  the  amount  of  capital  which 
the  landholder  has  to  devote  to  this  object.  The  amount  of  labor  subtract- 
ed from  the  ordinary  operations  of  the  plantation  would  be  very  small,  in 
any  case,  in  proportion  to  the  object  to  be  attained.  A  single  expert 
plowman,  with  a  good  team,  could  give  even  the  three  plowings  to  a  large 
field.H 

*  "  Because  flower-leaves,"  says  Johnston,  give  off  nitrogen  into  the  air  ;  and,  as  this  element  is  sup- 
posed especially  to  promote  the  growth  of  plants,  it  is  desirable  to  retain  as  much  of  it  in  the  plant  and  scil 
M  possible." — Ag.  Che.m.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  185. 

t  Perhaps  more.    That  amount  is  frequently  exceeded  here,  on  stubUe  lands. 

j  So  that  the  expense  to  be  otfsetted  against  one  of  those  processes  (in  estimating  their  compara?!T« 
economy  as  a  means  of  reclamation  with  green  manuring)  is  plowing,  harrowing,  and  seeding  tidai. 

||  I  have  attempted  to  fix  no  definite  data  on  this  point,  because  you,  who  are  acquainted  with  plowing 
Southern  lands,  are  better  competent  to  do  so.  1  would  remark,  in  this  connection,  that  my  conviction* 
are  very  strong  that  the  introduction  of  the  two-horse  plow  of  the  Norih  would  lead  to  a  decided  improve, 
ment  in  your  Agriculture,  from  the  superior  manner  in  which  it  does  its  work,  and  by  leading  to  deeper 
plowing.  The  wheel  will  cause  it  to  run  as  shallow  as  a  one-horse  plow,  however  svhere  the  character  O; 
the  Boif  renders  it  desirable. 


76  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

Even  in  the  case  of  either  of  the  two  classes  of  soils  before  treated  of 
(those  now  producing  thinnish  pasturage,  or  which  can  be  converted  into 
pastures  simply  by  plowing  and  seeding),  one  or  more  green  manuring 
crops  would  form  a  most  excellent  and  accelerating  initiatory  step,  and, 
where  sufficient  capital  is  possessed,  I  have  no  doubt,  a  most  economical 
one,  toward  their  fertilization. 

In  view  of  all  my  preceding  statements,  do  you  ask  me  if  I  advocate 
sheep  husbandry  exclusively,  on  all  the  lands  at  the  South  which  already 
are,  ^r  should  be  devoted  to  grazing  ]  Most  assuredly  not.  I  have  al- 
ready laid  it  down  as  a  maxim  that  "  agricultural  production  should  be 
controlled  by  the  demand  or  want,  and  the  adaptation  of  the  country  to 
such  production."  By  this  rule,  the  South  should,  at  least,  never  import  a 
horse,*  a  mule,  a  pound  of  beef,  pork,  butter,  cheese  or  wool.  She  wants 
them  all,  and  she  can  produce  them  all  mere  economically  than  she  can 
import  them.  That  declared  impossibility  in  politics,  an  imperium  in  im- 
pcrio,  should  be  in  Agriculture,  so  far  as  it  may  be  consistently  with  the 
above  maxim,  the  attitude  of  every  farm  and  plantation.  Each  should  be 
independent  to  the  greatest  economical  extent,  so  far  as  the  production  of 
the  necessaries,  comforts  and  luxuries  of  life  are  concerned,  of  every  other 
farm  or  plantation  in  the  world  !  This  mixed  and  multifarious  farming  is 
objected  to  by  theorists,  inasmuch  as  it  trenches  .on  the  division  of  laboi 
principle.  But  it  favors  rotation,  and  thereby  prevents  the  exhaustion  of 
soils — leads  to  a  more  bountiful  use  of  the  every-day  comforts  of  lifef — 
and,  finally,  it  is  less  hazardous.  The  one-crop  farmer,  if  crop  and  market 
are  both  in  their  most  favorable  state,  realises  great  profits.  But  if  the 
market  is  poor,  or  the  crop  small,  the  loss  is  proportionately  large.  The 
farmer  pursuing  mixed  husbandry  will  not  generally  fall  greatly  behind 
tho  best  profits  of  the  other,  and  his  losses  are  rarely  considerable.  It  is 
better  to  pi  ay  for  a  hit  than  a  gammon,  where,  as  in  the  case  of  the  small 
capitalist,  affluence  or  penury  "stand  the  hazard  of  the  die  .'" 

If  the  above  positions  are  true,  the  South  is  called  upon  to  increase  the 
oreeding  of  other  domestic  animals  as  well  as  sheep.  To  an  extent  suffi- 
cient to  supply  her  own  wants,  I  consider  her  imperiously  called  upon  so 
to  do.  I  advocate  the  breeding  of  sheep  specially — on  a  vastly  more  ex- 
tended scale — because,  as  has  been  already  shown,  they  are  the  best  (if 
not  the  only)  reclaimers  of  your  unproductive  lands ;  and  because  in  that- 
surplus  of  the  products  of  grazing,  which  these  extensive  reclamations  will 
bring  about,  they  furnish  you  the  exporting^  article  (wool)  for  lohich  you 
can  find  the  largest  extra-limital:  market,  and  in  growing  which  you  can  best 
compete  with  other  producers. 

Let  us  suppose,  for  the  sake  of  the  argument,  that  these  newly  reclaimed 
pasture  lands  would  carry  heavy  beasts  as  well  as  sheep,  and  with  equal 
benefit  to  the  land.  After  supplying  the  home  demand,  what  would  be 
done  with  the  surplus  horses,  mules  and  beeves  1  To  what  markets  in  tho 
world  could  you  export  horses  and  mules,  with  the  exception  of  some  of 
the  West  India  islands — the  markets  of  which  a  few  thousand  head  of 
these  animals  would  annually  glut  ]  Do  you  ask  me  what  would  prevent 
your  sending  your  surplus  beef  to  England  1  Nothing.  But  neither  tho 
South,  nor  the  North,  nor  the  East,  can  compete  with  the  great  North-west 

*  Unless  for  the  improvement  of  breeds. 

t  I  mean  by  this  that  the  planter  who  raises  all  the  necessaries  of  life  will  be  more  liberal  of  them  than 
tne  one  who  purchases  them. 

|  I  do  not  use  *>he  word  here  in  i*.s  technical  sense.  I  mean  carried  beyond  mere  local  limits  for  sale — 
whether  that  sale  be  effected  in  tbe  same  State,  in  some  other  part  of  thc'U.  3.,  or  abroad. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  77 

in  producing  beef  (or  pork*)  for  exportation  to  foreign  countries.  Its  im- 
mense natural  pastures — the  profusion  and  cheapness  with  which  Indian 
corn  can  be  produced  on  its  virgin  soils — give  it  an  advantage  which  in- 
creased transportation  by  no  means  counterbalances.  The  question  then 
arises — Why,  for  the  same  reasons,  cannot  the  vast  North-western  plains 
produce  wool  more  cheaply  than  the  South,  and  undersell  her  in  our  own 
and  the  foreign  markets  1  In  the  first  place,  the  western  pastures — that 
is  to  say,  the  wild  or  natural  ones — which  produce  beef  so  cheaply,  are, 
by  reason  of  the  coarseness  and  rankness  of  their  verdure,  not  adapted  ft: 
tlie  growing  of  sliccp.  Secondly,  the  shortness  and  mildness  of  the  south- 
ern wrinter  give  a  decided  advantage  in  wool  growing,  by  affording  green 
winter  feed — an  advantage  not  profitably  available  probably,  on  an  extend- 
ed scale,  with  large  grass-feeding  animals.  Again,  in  the  North-west, 
though  there  is  less  snow,  the  winter  is  about  as  long,  for  all  the  practical 
purposes  of  husbandry,  as  in  New-York.t  Killing  frosts  come  as  early  in 
autumn  ;  the  naked  ground  is  frozen  as  solidly,  and  far  more  deeply  ;  and 
verdure  puts  forth  but  little  if  any  earlier  in  the  spring.  The  South  then 
possesses  the  same  great  advantage  with  the  North-west  in  the  production 
of  wool — cheap  lands  ;  and,  superadded  to  this,  she  has  the  short,  mild 
winters,  which  give  her  a  decided  advantage  over  both  the  North  and 
North- west.  She  has  a  marked  advantage  over  the  Northern  and  Eastern 
States  in  both  particulars,  and,  instead  of  importing  manufactured  wooln 
from  them,  she  aught  to  supply  them,  by  export,  with  at  least  the  raw  ma- 
terial. And  she  will  do  this  at  no  distant  day,  unless  her  sons  are  content, 
in  the  great  struggle  and  battle  of  industrial  interests,  to  sacrifice  their 
own  by  apathy  or  irresolution. 

*  I  have  not  alluded  to  the  rearing  of  swine  any  more  fully,  as  they  are  but  partially  a  grazing  animal. 
—But  if  the  position  assumed  in  the  text  be  correct,  it  is  another  argument  in  favor  of  devoting  your  lands 
to  the  production  of  surplus  wool,  instead  of  surplus  corn. 

f  The  winter  feeding  of  sheep  in  New  Yorjt  has  already  been  stated  to  average  about  one  hundred  ««*< 


78  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


LETTER  VII. 

PROFITS   OP  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE   SOUTHERN  STATES.— 3.  BY  GIV 
ING  TO  SOUTHERN  AGRICULTURE  A  MIXED  AND  CONVERTIBLE  CHAR- 
ACTER.—4.  BY  FURNISHING  THE  RAW  MATERIAL  FOR  THE  MANUFAC- 
TURE OF  DOMESTIC  WOOLENS. 


Expediency  of  Rotation  in  Crops.  ..Consequences  of  omitting  it  on  Wheat  Lands  of  New-York ...  Mr.  Gay- 
lord's  views.  ..Consequences  in  the  Southern  States... Mr.  Roper's  Report  in  the  Legislature  of  South 
Carolina — [Cotton  Statistics  of  that  State — Comparison  with  other  States — General  Agricultural  Resources 
— necessity  of  new  staples].  ..Judge  Seabrook's  Report  to  the  State  Agricultural  Society  of  South  Caro- 
Una — [Agricultural  Statistics-  Remedies  proposed  for  present  "  distress"] . .  .Singular  omission  of  Wool  as 
one  of  the  proposed  new  Staples.  ..Southern  prejudice  on  this  subject — Causes.  ..Impropriety  of  the  one- 
crop  system — Diminishes  crops — Deteriorates  land — Multiplies  insects.  ..Fertility  sustained  by  Rotation — 
Causes. .."  Resting" — Its  inexpediency.  ..Some  of  the  Crops  of  every  Rotation  irtust  be  converted  mainly 
into  Manure — Superior  economy  of  converting  them  into  Animal  Manure — Sheep  the  most  profitable  ani- 
mals for  this  purpose.  ..Leading  principles  of  a  profitable  Southern  Rotation — Six-shift  Course  proposed— 
Five-shift  Course — Six-shift  Course  for  poor  soils- ..Col.  Taylor's  Four-shift  Course — Objections.  ..Com- 
parative profit  of  growing  Wool,  Cotton  and  Rice,  incidentally  alluded  to. .  .Economy  of  producing  the  raw 
material  for  the  Manufacture  of  Domestic  Woolens...  Cost  of  Slave  Cloths  per  head  per  year... Prices  now 
paid  for  these  Cloths — Cost  of  manufacturing  them — Data  for  estimating  such  cost... Great  profits  of  Man- 
ufacturers in  the  Northern  States— Their  Dividends — Their  method  of  exchanging  Cloth  for  Wool — Work- 
ins;  Wool  at  the  halves.  ..Cost  of  Cloths  obtained  by  these  methods.  ..The  South  may  obtain  the  same  ad- 
vantages — Natural  Facilities — Cost  of  Machinery — On  what  terms  worked — Operations... Cloths  spun  and 
wove  by  hand  cheaper  than  the  imported  ones — Cost  of  the  several  processes  of  manufacturing  them— 
Estimate  of  Cost  per  yard  at  the  North... Cost  of  establishing  Carding  and  Cloth-Dressing  Machinery... 
Home-made  Fabrics  diminishing  at  the  North — Causes... Same  Causes  will  not  operate  to  so  great  an  ex 
tent  at  the  South — Reasons... Probable  Cost  of  Home-made  Cloths,  South. 


Dear  Sir :  The  third  great  benefit  claimed  by  me  among  the  profits  of 
sheep  husbandry  in  the  Southern  States  was,  "  its.  comparative  efficacy  in 
giving  to  Southern  Agriculture  a  mixed  and  convertible  character,  and 
thereby  sustaining  (or  improving)  all  the  present  good  tillage  lands,  in  tho 
place  of  continuing  the  "  new  and  old  field"  system  (tilling  land  until  it  is 
worn  out,  then  abandoning  it  and  opening  new  lands),  once  so  general, 
and  even  now  by  far  too  prevalent." 

The  first  object  of  mixed  husbandry  has  been  already  stated — -the  home 
supply  of  the  various  necessaries  of  life.  Its  second,  and  still  more  impor- 
tant one,  is  the  preservation  of  existing  fertility  in  all  soils  fit  for  tillage. — 
It  certainly  requires  no  proof  or  argument  to  demonstrate  the  superior  ex- 
pediency of  maintaining  the  fertility  of  soils,  if  it  can  be  done,  by  a  rota- 
tion of  crops,  even  though  each  of  these  crops  is  not,  separately  considered, 
the  one  which  would  yield  the  greatest  immediate  profit.  In  the  language 
of  the  hackneyed  aphorism,  it  is  never  expedient  to  "  kill  the  goose  which 
lays  golden  eggs."  . 

This  constant  cropping  with  one  plant  was  once  extensively  practiced 
on  the  wheat  lands  of  New- York,  as  many  of  their  present  owners  can 
bitterly  attest.  Even  now  there  can  be  no  doubt  that,  on  nearly  all  of 
them,  wheat  returns  too  often  in  the  rotation.  These  lands  were  once 
rapidly,  and  are  still,  I  fear,  slowly  declining  in  value ;  while  the  grazing 
lands  of  Southern  New-York,  where  men  have  been  compelled  to  be  more 
discreet,  have  been  constantly  improving  and  approximating  to  the  former 
in  market  value.* 

*  This  calls  to  mind  a  letter  which  I  received  from  an  old  and  valued  correspondent,  the  late  Willis  Gay. 
lord,  but  a  short  time  prior  to  his  death.  I  had  spoken  of  the  advantages  of  his  own,  the  wheat  region, 
•ver  tho  grazing  region  in  which  I  reside.  Mr.  G.  combated  this  idea.  He  thought  capital  invested  her» 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


The  same  system  has  prevailed  on  the  rice,  tobacco,  and  cotton  lands  of 
the  South,  and  has,  for  a  variety  of  reasons  not  necessary  here  to  be  dis- 
cussed, been,  in  the  case  of  the  two  latter  at  least,  more  fatally  persisted 
in.  I  have  already  alluded  to  the  exhaustion  of  your  soils  consequent  on 
this  course  of  culture,  but  to  show  the  wide  extent  of  the  evil  —  its  pecu- 
niary consequences  individually,  and  on  whole  States  —  the  now  admitted 
necessity  of  a  rotation  of  crops  —  the  equally  conceded  necessity  of  intro- 
ducing some  new  staple,  or  staples,  to  render  the  other  crops  in  the  rota- 
tion, besides  cotton,  rice,  and  tobacco,  remunerative  —  and  various  other  con 
siderations  having  a  strong  bearing  on  this  whole  question  —  I  quote  the 
following  statements  from  Southern,  as  well  as  highly  authoritative  sources. 

The  Committee  on  Agriculture  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  South 
Carolina,  through  their  Chairman,  Hon.  R.  W.  Roper,  made  a  Report  to 
that  body,  Dec.  14,  1842,  from  which  the  following  are  extracts  : 

"  Let  us  now  turn  our  consideration  to  one  other  great  staple,  cotton,  of  which  the  statis 
tics  are  so  exact  that  we  can  ascertain  by  calculation  what  our  prospects  are  as  regards  com- 
petition in  that  article.  The  United  States  produce  at  present  578,012,473  Ibs.  —  more  than 
one-half  the  crop  of  the  whole  world.  South  Carolina  grows  of  this  43,927,171  Ibs.,  or  1-13 
part  of  the  quantity  ;  but  from  this  source  of  profit  her  palmy  days  are  past.  Every  yeai 
opens  new  lands  in  the  West,  where  congeniality  of  soil  and  climate  to  this  commodity  in 
creases  the  product  per  acre  far  beyond  what  can  be  reared  at  home,  and  consequently  re 
Juces  the  value  infinitely  below  the  costly  prices  which  formerly  enriched  Carolina.  These 
new  lands  produce,  on  an  average,  2,500  Ibs.  of  cotton  per  hand,  while  the  lands  in  Carolina 
yield  but  1,200  Ibs.,  and  the  expenses  of  a  laborer  being  about  equal  in  either  place,  reduces 
the  Carolina  cotton  to  half  its  intrinsic  value.  We  have  also  the  declaration  of  Mr.  Dixon  H. 
Lewis,  in  a  recent  speech  in  Congress,  that  cotton,  divested  of  Government  embarrassments, 
might  be  grown  in  Alabama  for  three  cents  a  pound. 

"Your  Committee  will  avail  itself  of  the  lucid  calculations  of  a  distinguished  and  talented 
tt-Iividual,*  to  present  another  view  of  the  subject,  startling  in  its  details,  and  bearing  strong 
?J  3n  the  propriety  of  summing  up  all  our  resources.  The  crop  of  the  world  amounts  to 
1,000,000,000  Ibs.,  which  would  require,  at  the  rate  of  250  Ibs.  per  acre,  4,000,000  of  acres 
to  grow  this  quantity.  Now,  the  four  States  bordering  on  the  coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  — 
viz.,  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  Alabama  and  Florida  —  contain  130,000,000  of  acres  ;  proving, 
ihat,  if  only  one  acre  in  32  were  found  capable  of  producing  250  Ibs.  to  the  acre,  these  four 
States  could,  alone,  supply  the  demand  of  all  the  markets  in  the  world.  In  this  calculation, 
the  produce  of  Georgia,  South  Carolina,  North  Carolina  and  Virginia,  with  portions  of  other 
States,  besides  150,000,000  acres  in  Texas,  are  entirely  excluded.  The  lands  of  the  Gulf 
States,  therefore,  and  Texas,  are  sufficient  to  supply  the  demands  of  the  world  in  all  time  to 
como.  Where,  then,  is  the  hope  or  prospect  of  South  Carolina  in  the  competition  ?  .  .  . 

"  South  Carolina  comprises  within  .her  borders  16,000,000  acres  of  land,  of  which  only 
1,300,000  are  cultivated.  Of  this,  cotton  occupies  175,700  acres  ;  rice,  80,000;  Indian  com 
500,000;  potatoes,  22,612;  wheat,  24,079  —  making  an  aggregate  of  about  800,000  acres;  the 
balance  of  500,000  are  taken  up  in  oats,  rye,  barley,  hay,  tobacco,  and  a  limited  portion  ot 
other  articles  necessary  to  the  supplies  of  life.  To  what  use,  then,  is  the  balance  of  our  ter 


returnee!  quite  as  good  or  better  profits,  than  on  the  wheat  lands.  He  thought,  taken  as  a  whole,  the  graz- 
ing farmers  were  doing  better  than  the  wheat  farmers.  The  latter,  though  ostensibly  making  an  equal  and 
frequently  better  per  centage,  were  wasting  their  capital.  The  gracing  laricls  and  the  wheat  lands  wore  rap- 
idly approaching  each  other  in  market  value,  by  the  rise  of  the  former  and  the  deterioration  of  the  latter. 
May  this  not  afford  a  parallel  to  what  will  one  day  be  witnessed  in  the  Southern  States  ? 

It  is  difficult  for  me  to  pass  by  the  name  of  this  accomplished  writer—  this  pure,  upright  and  philanthropic 
man  —  without  throwing  one  stone  on  the  cairn  of  his  well-merited  fame.  He  felt  himself,  from  his  infancy, 
cut  " 


would  have  pr  , 

temporaries.  His  range  of  reading  and  study  was  remarkable.  In  his  beautiful  and  sparkling  letters  to 
me,  every  subject  and  almost  every  science  is  touched  upon  by  him  in  a  manner  that  shows  that  he  at  least 
had  mastered  their  general  principles  ;  and,  in  the  abandon  of  private  intercourse,  they  seem  to  have  been 
to  him  as  the  flowerets  of  a  garden,  among  which  his  spirit  could  roam  with  that  playful  and  joyous  activ- 
ity which  was  denied  to  his  poor,  frail  body,  among  the  objects  of  the  outer  and  physical  world. 

Freely,  unassumingly,  and  without  an  aspiration  but  for  the  good  of  his  fellow  men,  his  mind  poured  out  , 
Its  stores  on  a  variety  of  topics  in  the  publications  of  the  day.  Fortunately,  he  gave  his  principal  attention 
to  the  subject  of  Agriculture,  and,  if  not  a  discoverer  (which  he  never  claimed  to  be),  he  investigated  and 
collated  with  an  industriousness  of  research,  discrimination  and  perspicacity,  which  brought  the  truth  from 
ail  the  different  sources  where  discovery  or  experience  had  left  its  disjecta  membra,  into  essays,  so  well  com- 
pacted,  so  clearly  airanged,  that  men  of  the  most  ordinary  parts  could  not  only  understand  his  separate  sen- 
tences and  positions,  but  their  connection  tod  aggregate  bearing,  and  thus  master  the  whole  subject.  Peace 
to  his  ashes  ! 

*  Gov  Hairuiond. 


80   '          SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


ritory,  of  14,000,000  of  acres,  to  be  appropriated  ?  Are  we  forever  to  be  supplied  with  stock 
from  the  West,  bread-stuffs  from  the  Middle  States,  and  manufactures  from  the  North  ?  Is 
all  that  we  can  realize  from  our  labor  to  be  expended  abroad  ?  Nothing  to  be  left  for  our 
own  improvements  or  our  luxury  ?  As  one  means  of  correcting  this  evil,  your  Committee 
propose  an  Agricultural  Survey  of  the  Slate,  to  determine  our  natural  advantages,  develop 
our  facilities  of  improvement,  exhibit  our  profits  and  expenditures,  and  awaken  our  citizens 
to  the  importance  of  vying  with,  the  rest  of  the  human  family  in  all  the  improvements  of 
which  our  location  is  susceptible 

"  The  exposition  which  your  Committee  has  given,  showing  the  great  competition  of  for- 
eign rice  with  our  own,  and  that  South  Carolina  cannot  compete  with  the  West  in  the  cheap 
production  of  cotton,  and  that  she  must,  ere  long,  be  driven  from  the  market,  demonstrates 
the  necessity  of  looking  abroad  and  around  us  for  other  sources  of  advancement  and  projitt 
than  those  we  possess. 

"  VVe  cannot  expect  that  accident  is  continually  to  supply  new  staples  suited  to  our  soil 
and  climate,  and  place  us  beyond  the  reach  of  contingent  circumstances.  We  must  resort 
to  science  to  improve  our  Agriculture,  and  to  machinery  to  enlarge  and  prepare  present  arti- 
cles of  culture,  or  transplant  and  acclimate  new  products,  which  will  again,  like  those  wo 
have  lost  and  will  lose,  lead  off'  for  a  period  in  the  employment  of  capital,  amassing  of  wealth 
and  diffusion  of  human  happiness." 

The  House  and  Senate  agreed  with  the  Report,  the  same  day,  and  its 
principal  recommendation,  an  Agricultural  Survey  of  the  State,  was 
adopted. 

The  Committee  appointed  by  the  South  Carolina  State  Agricultural  So- 
ciety to  consider  the  scheme  of  Col.  Davie  to  reduce  the  quantity  of  cotton 
grown,  made  a  Report,  through  their  Chairman,  Judge  Seabrook,  at  the 
winter  meeting  of  the  Society,  1845-6,  from  which  the  following  are  ex- 
tracts :* 

''Another  cause  of  our  distress  is  that;  in  a  large  portion  of  the  southern  country,  cotton  is 
cultivated,  when  its  production  does  not  now,  and  never  can,  at  all  compensate  the  planter 
for  the  labor  bestowed.  There  it  is  desirable  for  every  one  that  other  branches  of  industry 
ehould  be  pursued.  .  .  .  We  do  not  intend  to  encourage  the  cultivation  of  cotton  to  the 
neglect  of  the  other  products  necessaty  to  support  or  comfort.  Every  planter  should  prompt- 
ly render  himself  independent  in  reference  to  those  articles  which  could  be  produced  on  his 
plantation.  In  this  way  he  would  profitably  curtail  the  quantity  of  land  devoted  to  the  cot- 
tcu  crop.  An  abandonment  of  the  present  extremely  defective  mode  of  culture,  and  the  sub- 
stitution of  a  better,  would  insure  a  larger  quantity  of  cotton  than  would  be  lost  by  diversify- 
ing the  products  of  industry.  In  other  words,  his  cotton  crop  would  be  larger ;  his  corn, 
wheat,  rice,  oats,  barley,  horses,  mules,  hogs,  cattle,  sheep,  butter  and  vegetables,  would  be 
the  produce  of  his  farm. 

"  If,  however,  the  cotton  crop  is  to  be  given  up  one-half,  after  all  the  reductions  of  it  which 
we  have  sanctioned,  to  what  else  can  the  planter  of  the  South  so  profitably  turn  his  attention  ? 
To  grain  ?  He  already,  in  ordinary  years,  produces  twice  as  much  as  the  Middle  States,  and 
about  one-eighth  more  than  the  West.  In  Indian  corn  alone,  the  produce  of  the  South,  by 
her  last  census,  was  300  million  bushels.  If  the  planter  of  cotton  is  engaged  in  an  unprofit 
able  business,  much  more  is  the  grain  raised.  .  .  .  Millions  of  acres  in  South  Carolina, 
including  the  lower  country,  are  admirably  adapted  to  the  raising  of  rich  grasses.  This 
might  be  added  as  another  branch  of  industry,  from  which  reasonable  profits  might  be  real 
ized,  and  might  very  well  be  added  to  the  cotton  planter's  income.  The  business  of  tanning 
and  the  manufactures  of  leather  might  be  and  ought  to  be  enlarged.  In  this  State,  all  the 
means  of  a  successful  pursuit  of  this  branch  of  industry  are  at  hand  and  within  the  reach  of 
every  one.  Hides,  lime,  bark  and  mechanics  (slaves)  are  abundant." 

The  remarks  in  both  of  the  above  extracts,  though  made  exclusively  in 
reference  to  South  Carolina,  will  apply  equally  well,  in  many  obvious  par- 
ticulars, to  all  the  old  cotton  and  tobacco  growing  States. 

To  a  Northern  man,  accustomed  from  his  childhood  to  see  sheep  hus- 
bandry blended,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  in  the  operations  of  nearly 
every  farm,  and  to  live  among  farmers  who  regard  it  just  as  indispensable, 
and  as  much  a  matter  of  course,  as  the  production  of  bread-stuffs,  it  seems 
singular  enough  that  neither  of  the  above  able  Committees,  in  looking  for 

*  As  has  been  before  stated,  the  other  members  of  the  Committee  were  Judge  O'Neall  and  W.  J.  Ailston, 
Esq.  Mr.  A.  did  not  concur  with  his  colleagues  in  the  proposition  that  there  was  not  already  an  absolute 
over-production  of  cotton.  He  believed  there  was.  In  all  otlier  particulars,  and  consequently  in  all  era- 
braced  in  the  extracts  given,  he  concurred  in  the  Report. 


SHEEP  HUSBAVDRY  IN  THE   SOUTH,  8l 

"other  sources  of  advancement"-— "  new  products" — "ether  branches  of 
industry" — both  to  bring  into  use  millions  of  acres  of  unproductive  terri- 
tory "  admirably  adapted  to  the  raising  of  rich  grasses,"  and  to  render 
profitable  and  preserve  the  fertility  of  the  tillage  lands  of  the  State,  should 
not  have  thought  of  wool  growing — or  only  thought  of  it,  as  it  were,  inci- 
dentally— at  the  very  heel  of  a  catalogue  of  farm  products,  and  in  refer- 
ence solely  to  supplying  the  home  want ! 

Indeed,  the  estimate  which  has  been  set  upon  sheep  husbandry  gener- 
ally, and  by  all  classes  of  agriculturists,  South,  is  a  source  of  unmixed  sur- 
prise to  one  acquainted  with  this  pursuit,  and  with  the  resources  of  that 
region  for  sustaining  it.  There  appears  among  many,  if  I  may  credit  your 
own  writers,*  to  be  even  a  prejudice  against  sheep  and  sheep  husbandry, 
per  se  !  Is  this  because  these  animals  bear  a  staple,  and  give  employment 
to  manufactories,  which  have  claimed  the  "  protection  "  of  Government,  to 
the  prejudice,  in  the  opinion  of  Southern  politicians,  of  Southern  interests  1i 
[s  any  portion  of  it  due  to  the  scornful  denunciations  of  the  brilliant,  but 
eccentric  and  cynical,  statesman  of  Roanoke,  who  "  would  at  any  time  go 
out  of  his  way  to  kick  a  sheep"  ]  Or  is  it  owing  to  the,  in  most  respects, 
justly  popular  writings  of  Col.  Taylor,  of  Virginia'?  Hon.  Andrew  Ste- 
venson, of  the  same  State,  in  a  letter  to  John  S.  Skinner,  Esq.,  says  :| 

"  The  prejudice  which  the  late  Col.  John  Taylor,  of  Caroline  (who,  by-the-by,  did  more 
for  Agriculture  than  any  man  in  America),  had  against  sheep,  has  been  the  means  of  render- 
ing this  description  of  stock  unpopular  in  many  parts  of  the  southern  country.  ...  If 
this  distinguished  patriot  and  statesman  had  lived  at  this  day,  he  would  have  changed  his 
opinion." 

The  impropriety  and  inexpediency  of  giving  all  the  labor  and  prime  land 
of  the  country  to  the  exclusive  cultivation  of  one  or  two  crops,  even  leav- 
ing the  deterioration  of  the  lands,  consequent  on  such  a  course,  out  of  the 
question,  is  forcibly  set  forth  in  the  Reports  above  quoted  from.  But  that 
deterioration  is  an  infinitely  more  fatal  evil,  both  to  individuals  and  States. 
An  injudicious  course  of  cropping  can  be  easily  changed;  but,  if  the  land 
is  entirely  impoverished,  the  change  comes  too  late,  until  labor  and  capital 
have  been  employed  on  its  restoration.  The  tendency,  nay,  the  absolute 
connection  as  cause  and  effect,  between  the  one-crop  system  and  such  dete- 
rioration, has  been  proved  by  too  sad  an  experience  at  the  South — is  too 
universally  recognized  and  conceded — to  find  a  single  questioner  who  pos- 
sesses ordinary  intelligence.  Whether  the  consequent  phenomena  are 
solved  by  the  excretionary  theory  of  De  Candolle,  or  the  more  ordinary 
one  of  the  exhaustion  of  some  of  those  substances  which  constitute  the  ne- 
cessary food  of  plants,  the  facts  presented  are  the  same.||  The  soil  yields 
constantly  diminishing  crops,  until  it  becomes  incapable  of  producing  more 
than  scattering  and  feeble  plants ;  an'd  the  insect  enemies  of  the  latter, 
which  would  perish  if  deprived  of  their  aliment  by  the  substitution  of  some 
other  plants,  multiply  in  a  constantly  ascending  rati  \§ 

*  Hon.  Andrew  Stevenson,  John  S.  Skinner,  at.  al .  in  Monthly  Journal  of  Agriculture,  &c. 

t  If  such  protection  has  prejudiced  the  South,  what  stronger  reason  why  she  should  remunerate  herself 
by  appropriating  a  share  of  it ! 

J  Monthly  Journal  of  Agriculture,  July,  1845. 

||  The  theory  of  M.  De  Candolle,  apparently  so  strongly  supported  by  the  experiments  of  M.  Macaire,  haa 
found  many  belieyers.  But  the  statements  of  the  latter  have  been  contradicted  by  M.  Braconnet.  M.  Mir 
bel,  and  finally  are  totally  overthrown,  in  my  judgment,  by  the  experiments  and  investigations  of  Mr.  Alfred 
Gyde,  of  Scotland.  Mr.  Gyde  shows  that  the  minute  excretions  of  plants  have  the  same  composition  with 
their  tap;  and  he  also  watered  plants  with  a  solution  of  their  excretions,  not  only  without  injury^but  to 
their  manifest  benefit !  For  Mr.  Gyde's  able  Prize  Essay  on  this  subject,  see  the  Transactions  of  the  High- 
land and  Agricultural  Society  of  Scotland  (March,  1846).  I  am  not  aware  that  this  essay  has  been  repub- 
lished  in  our  country.  It  certainly  should  be. 

f)  Of  the  latter  evil,  the  past  year  furnished  a  pregnant  example.  I  saw  it  stated  last  winter,  in  the  South 
Carolinian  (published  at  Columbia,  S.  C.),  on  the  authority  of  an  Unite*!  States  Senator,  that  the  falling  off 
In  the  cotton  crop  would  be  enormous,  by  reason  of  the  depredation  of  worms.  This  evil  is  constantly  in 
creasing,  and  must  continue  to,  while  the  planter  continues  to  provide  aliment  for  each  succeeding  hord* 
of  destroyers,  by  continuing  on  the  soil  the  plants  on  which  they  prey. 

L 


82  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

Experience  lias  shown  that  if  vegetables  of  different  classes  are  made  to 
follow  each  other,  the  soil  will  much  longer  retain  its  productiveness.—- 
Even  when  "  exhausted"  of  some  one  or  more  of  those  ingredients  neces- 
eary  for  the  healthy  production  of  a  particular  plant,  it  is  found  to  produce 
others  luxuriantly  which  do  not  require  the  lacking  ingredients,  or  but  very 
minute  portions  of  them  And,  by  a  most  beautiful  arrangement  of  phys- 
ical causes  and  effects,  when  a  plant  is  removed  from  the  soil,  and  notwith- 
standing its  place  is  occupied  by  others,  a  process  of  restoration  at  once 
commences  to  replace  all  that  the  absent  plant  has  appropriated,  and  to 
prepare  the  kindly  bosom  of  the  earth  again  for  its  reception.  Nature 
herself,  in  ministering  to  this  beneficent  end,  becomes  a  great  laboratory  ; 
and  in  her  most  ordinary,  as  well  as  her  most  unusual  operations,  she  i«* 
constantly  producing  those  chemical  changes,  and  furnishing  those  chem- 
ical ingredients,  which  restore  what  has  been  abstracted  by  man's  cupid- 
ity, or  lost  by  his  improvidence.  The  gentle  rain  brings  down  ammonia 
and  carbon  to  plants.  The  frost  rives  the  solid  rocks,  to  disengage  their 
fertilizing  constituents.  The  sun,  in  his  flaming  path,  looks  down  not  only 
to  warm  and  give  us  light,  but  to  perform  functions  in  the  vegetable  econ- 
omy without  which  all  herbage,  except  a  few  miserable  fungi,  would  per- 
ish ;  and  to  all  he  imparts  their  varied  and  beautiful  coloring.  The  thun- 
der which  shakes  the  walls  of  cities,  and  strikes  man  with  awe,  brings  to 
our  aid  one  of  the  most  efficient  promoters  of  vegetation.  Even  the  burst- 
ing volcano  converts  its  fiery  crater  into  a  crucible  and  retort,  and  gives 
off  that  gas  which  forms  so  large  a  portion  of  all  the  vegetable  and  animal 
productions  of  the  globe  :  and  the  wild  winds,  which  strand  navies  in  their 
course,  equally  diffuse  it  over  the  earth. 

It  follows  from  the  above  positions  that  naturally  good  lands*  which  aits 
more  or  less  exhausted  will  be  gradually  resuscitated  by  "  rest,"  or  an  en- 
tire exemption  from  tillage  ;  and  hence  the  absurd  idea  that  lands  require 
physical  "  rest,"  in  the  same  sense  in  which  the  tired  animal  muscle  re- 
quires it,  after  continuous  exertion.  But,  apart  from  the  theciy,  the  prac- 
tice of  "resting"  lands  is  inexpedient,  for  the  following  reasons:  If  a 
plant  is  not  continued  'on  a  soil  until  it  consumes  any  of  those  inorganic 
constituents  necessary  to  its  production — if,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  suc- 
ceeded by  a  plant  which  makes  its  heaviest  drafts  on  those  inorganic  sub- 
stances which  its  predecessor  required  the  least  of,  and  vice  versa — the 
natural  recuperative  process  above  adverted  to,  aided  by  means  which  lose 
to  us  none  of  the  value  of  the  crops,  will  repair  the  waste  made  by  each 
plant,  before  it  again  occupies  the  soil,  in  a  judicious  rotation.  Hence,  by 
a  rotation  of  crops,  fertility  can  be  indefinitely  sustained,  and  the  earth 
each  year  return  its  increase.  Thus  the  ends  of  "rest"  are  attained,  with- 
out its  great  and  unprofitable  sacrifices. 

To  sustain  the  fertility  of 'the  soil,  some  portion  of  the  crops  of  every 
rotation  must  be  converted  into  manure.  These  are  the  "  aiding  means" 
above  alluded  to.  They  may  be  converted  into  green  or  animal  manure 
If  the  former,  the  whole  crop  is  plowed  under.  If  the  latter,  the  crop  is 
nrst  partly  converted  into  animal  manure,  by  animals  depastured  on  it,  and 
than  this  animal  manure,  with  the  remaining  vegetation,  is  plowed  under. 
The  last  is  always  the  most  economical  method,  on  good  lands,t  becauje 
the  crop  is  worth  almost  as  much  for  manure,  after  passing  through  the 

*  I  say  "naturally  good  lands,"  for  those  entirely  deficient  in  several  of  the  necessary  condiments  of  « 
ter'.ile  soil  might  require  ages  of  rest  to  obtain  these  constituents — if,  indeed,  they  ever  would,  by  merely 
natural  causes. 

t  I  have  limited  the  assertion  to  "pood  lands,"  because  a  crop  of  green  manure,  turned  under  Rt  the 
proper  stage  of  its  growih,  will  undoubtedly  make  rather  more  manuie  than  in  any  other  way  ;  and  it  may 
be  expedient  many  times  to  give  poor  lands  all.  This  is  especially  true  in  the  reclamation  of  barren  land* 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  83 


bodies  of  a7iimals,  as  it  would  be  turned  under  green;  arid  then  we  have 
all  the  profit  made  on  or  by  the  animals — meat,  wool,  &-c. — without  any 
additional  cost.  Sheep,  being  the  best  minurers,  and  otherwise  the  most 
profitable  animals,  will  (with  enough  other  animals  to  supply  all  the  home 
demand  for  the  necessaries  furnished  by  them)  best  sustain  a  profitable  ro- 
tation. 

Here,  perhaps,  the  discussion  of  this  topic  in  connection  with  the  sub- 
ject matter  of  these  letters  should  terminate  ;  but  I  am  unwilling  to  aban 
don  it,  without  making  a  few  practical  suggestions  as  to  the  rotation  which 
would  be  found  most  profitable  at  the  Soath — more  particularly  on  the 
valuable  cotton  lands,  which  are  suffering  most  for  the  want  of  it.  It  is 
manifestly  impossible  to  lay  down  any  rule  or  rules  on  this  subject,  which 
can  or  should  be  rigidly  acted  upon,  in  all  instances.  Leading  principles 
can  only  be  declared,  and,  if  correct,  the  intelligent  man  can  always  vary 
their  application  so  as  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  his  particular  case. 

First,  I  should  consider  it  indispensable  on  all  cotton  (or  tobacco)  lands,* 
under  all  circumstances,  to  keep  at  least  one-third  of  them  in  pasturage,  to 
insure  the  proper  amount  of  manure,  over  and  above  cotton  seed,  and 
such  occasional  supplies  of  swamp  mud  and  marl  as  might  be  obtained  at 
spare  intervals — and  all  other  incidental  manures.  Another  third,  1  be- 
lieve, should  be  generally  devoted  to  grain  for  bread  stuffs,  for  fattening 
the  necessary  amount  of  bacon,  and  for  the  winter  forage  of  horses,  mules, 
swine,  &c.  Unless  the  horses  and  mules,  and,  perhaps  I  should  add,  the 
cows,  were  wintered  entirely,  or  in  great  part,  on  grain  and  the  offal  of 
the  grain  crops,  one-third  of  the  cultivated  land  in  grass,  would  not  support 
animals  enough  to  produce  the  manure  requisite  for  two-thirds  in  cotton 
and  grain.  But  in  making  the  above  division,  I  spoke  only  of  the  arabl& 
lands  fit  for  the  growth  of  cotton.  Most  plantations  have  poor,  or  swampy, 
or  rough  lands,  which  would  most  profitably  be  kept  permanently  in  gray* 
and  these  would  supply  the  deficit.  The  remaining  third  of  the  arable- 
lands  might  be  devoted  to  cotton,  or,  in  the  tobacco  region,  to  tobacco. 

By  the  course  above  proposed,  the  cotton  (or  tobacco)  and  wool  would; 
be  made  the  salable  products.  The  grain,  grass,  dairy  products,  bacon,. 
&c.,  would  be  consumed  on  the  plantation.  This  is  as  it  should  be.  Eu- 
ropean famine  has  given  a  stir  to  the  latter  products  this  .year,  (and  it  may 
for  a  year  more,)  in  the  Southern  markets  ;  but  with  the  ordinary  Euro- 
pean demand,  the  old  Southern  Atlantic  States  cannot,  as  we  have  seen* 
compete  at  a  profit  with  these  commodities,  which  debouch  through  the- 
Mississippi,  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  the  northern  canals.  With  the  two 
wools,  as  they  are  sometimes  called,  the  "  vegetable  and  animal,"  these 
States  can  undoubtedly  sustain,  themselves  against  the  pressure  of  any  out- 
ward competition. 

Such  a  division  of  crops  as  the  one  above  proposed,  could  be  effected! 
by  a  six-course  system  of  rotation.  Let  us  suppose  the  land  of  the  planta- 
tion fit  to  grow  corn  and  cotton,  divided  into  six  equal  fields.  I  then  pro- 
pose the  following  rotation : 


1st  year,  Grass  depastured. 
8d                do.            do. 
3d             Cotton. 
4tli           Cotton  with  yard  ma- 
nure, &.c. 
Sth            Corn  with  peas. 
6th           Small  grains  with  grass 
seed. 

1st  year, 
2d     .. 
3d     .. 

4th    .. 
5th    .. 

6th    .. 

Grass  depastured. 
Cotton. 
Cotton  with  yard  ma- 
nure, &c. 
Corn  with  peas. 
Small  grains  with  grass 
seed. 
Grass  depastured. 

1st  year,  Cotton. 
2d     ..     Cotton  with  yard  rn*> 
nure,  &c. 
3d     ..     Corn  with  peas. 
4th    ..     Small  grains  with  graw 
seed. 
5th    .  .     Grass  depastured. 
6th     ..         do.            do. 

*  I  have  not  included  the  rice  lands,  because  bein?  deep  beds  of  alluvial  deposits,  composed  in  a  great 
meRsure  of  organic  matter,  and  being  susceptible  of  irrigation,  they  will  not  wear  out  like  ordinary  eoila. 
an-i  stand  less  in  need  of  rotatf  n  in  their  crops. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


I  at  y< 

ad 

3d 

4th 
5th 

6th 

;ar,  Cotton  with  yard   ma- 
nure, &.C. 
Corn  with  peas. 
Small  grams  with  grass 
seed. 
Grass  depastured. 
do.            do. 
Cotton. 

1st  year,  Corn  with  pens. 
2d      ..     Small  grains  with  grass 
seeds.  • 
3d     ..     Grass  depastured. 
4th    ..         do.            do. 
5th    ..     Cotton. 
6th    ..     Cotton  with  yard  ma- 
nure, &c. 

1st  year,  (Small  grains  with  gras* 
seed. 
2d     ..     Grass  depastured. 
3d     ..         do.            do. 
4th    ..     Cotton. 
5th    ..     Cotton  with  yard  ma- 
nure, &c. 
6th    ..     Corn  with  peas. 

Supposing  each  of  these  fields  to  contain  50  acres,  this  would  give  100 
acres  of  grass,  100  of  cotton,  and  100  of  grain  (50  of  corn  and  50  of  small 
grains)  annually. 

By  this  course  all  the  hauled*  manure,  each  year,  would  be  given  to 
one-sixth  of  the  land,  and  consequently  the  same  field  would  not  receive 
it  but  once  in  six  years — yet  every  crop  would  be  adequately  manured. 
The  first  cotton  crop  would  receive  an  ample  amount  from  the  grass  roots 
and  the  droppings  of  animals  for  two  years;  the  second,  from  the  hauled 
manure ;  the  corn,  from  the  manure  left  by  the  previous  crop,  and,  if 
needed,  by  a  small  amount  of  cotton  seed,  ashes,  (or  some  other  mineral 
fertilizer,)  in  the  hill ;  the  small  grain  crop  would  be  amply  manured  by 
the  peas  sown  with  the  preceding  corn  ;  and  the  land  would  go  back  into 
grass  in  excellent  "heart,"  and,  if  the  previous  tillage  was  what  it  should 
be,  entirely  free  from  weeds.  The  com  might  intervene  between  the  two 
cotton  crops,  and  thus  remove  the  objection  which  exists  against  taking 
•;wo  crops  of  the  same  kind  in  succession.  But  I  placed  cotton  4th,  be- 
jause  there  should  come  a  manured  crop  at  this  period  of  the  rotation,  and 
I  thought  it  better  to  give  the  manure  to  the  more  valuable  crop,  and  be- 
cause cotton,  as  the  5th  crop,  would  not  admit  of  the  cultivation  of  the  pea, 
ito  provide  manure  for  the  small  grain  succeeding.  The  rotation  might  be 
thus  varied,  however,  if  circumstances  should  seem  to  render  it  desirable. 

I  have  put  down  no  meadow  in  the  rotation  on  the  arable  lands.  But 
>1  believe  the  growth  of  hay  to  a  certain  extent,  not  only  to  supply  any  or- 
dinary deficiency  in  winter  feed  beyond  the  quantity  furnished  by  the 
usual  sourbes — but  to  guard  against  contingencies,  would  be  good  econo- 
my in  all  cases.  All  farm  animals  must  be  well  wintered,  to  give  a  prof- 
itable return  in  summer ;  and  those  occasional  scarcities  of  fodder  always 
liable  to  overtake  the  farmer,  should  be  providently  guarded  against.  It 
is  never  considered  poor  economy,  in  the  North,  to  have  a  few  tons  of  hay 
even  to  summer  over.  The  necessary  meadows  for  the  plantation  might 
be  made  on  some  of  the  less  arable  lands  before  referred  to — and,  when 
the  tillage  lands  are  in  an  uncommonly  fertile  state  and  pasturage  plenty, 
it  would  do  to  mow  one  of  the  grass  crops  (the  second  one)  of  the  above 
rotation,  though,  if  avoidable,  I  should  think  the  other  course  entirely  pref- 
erable. 

On  poorer  lands — the  poorest  class  which  can  be  profitably  devoted  to 
•cotton  growing — I  would  propose  a  five-shift  course,  as  follows  : 

1st  year,  Grass  depastured.  3d  year,  Cotton. 

2d     ..         do.  do.  4th    ..     Com  with  peas. 

5th  year.  Small  grains  with  grass  seed. 

"The  manure  to  be  given  to  the  third  or  fourth  crop,  according  to  circum 
•stances,  or  divided  between  them. 

On  lands  of  a  still  inferior  grade,  but  which  it  may  be  expcdien  tc 
plow,  at  intervals,  I  would  propose  the  following  : 

1st  year  Grass  depastured.  4th  year,  Grass  depastured  (or  mown.) 

5th    .-     Corn  with  peas. 


Sd 
3d 


do. 
do. 


do. 
do. 


6th    . .     Small  grains  with  grass  seed. 


*  I  mean  by  this,  the  manure  from  every  source  which  is  carted  upon  the  land  in  quantity,  as  contradi** 
tlngnished  from  that  which  is  dropped  there  by  animate  made  by  plowing  under  vegetable*,  or  carried  OB 
fa  email  quantities  to  drop  in  the  lull,  .&c. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  85 


The  number  of  years  depastured  to  depend  upon  fertility — the  poorer  the 
land,  the  longer*  it  should  be  kept  in  pasture. 

The  following  is  the  rotation  which  was  introduced  by  Col.  Taylor, 
north  of  the  cotton-growing  region : 

let  year,  Corn.  3d  year,  Clover  (and  weeds)  not  mown  nor 

2d     ..     Wheat  and  clover  sown — if  too  grazed, 

poor  for  wheat,  left  at  rest  and  not  grazed.   4th    -  -     Clover  not  mown  nor  grazed. 

Of  this,  Mr.  John  J.  Thomas,  one  of  the  Editors  of  the  Albany  Cuhi 
vator,  very  justly  remarks  : 

"  It  was  materially  opposed  to  ihe  principles  of  good  husbandry  in  several  respects.-  It 
furnished  vegetable  manure  only  to  the  land.  A  large  portion  of  the  value  of  this  vegetable 
growth  was  lost,  by  dissipation  into  the  air,  during  its  decay.  The  returns  from  the  land 
were  necessarily  small,  as  only  two  years  out  of  four  produced  crops  for  harvesting.  And  it 
greatly  increased  the  labors  of  tillage,  by  the  increase  of  noxious  weeds." 

Had  this  clover  been  fed  off  by  sheep,  a  portion  of  the  above  objections 
would  be  inapplicable,  and  there  would  be  no  danger  of  the  corn 
leaving  the  soil  too  impoverished  for  wheat,  particularly  if  peas  were 
sown  with  the  former,  to  be  plowed  under.  A  crop  of  weeds  is,  of  all 
others,  the  most  to  be  avoided,  as  the  seeds  deposited  by  it  will  continue 
to  sprout  for  years  with  the  subsequent  tillage  crops,  rendering  them  foul 
arid  difficult  of  cultivation. 

I  may  be  in  a  profound  error,  but  I  cannot  but  believe,  after  carefully 
studying  Southern  Agriculture,  and  the  circumstances  which  invest  it, 
that  by  adopting  the  six-shift  system  of  rotation  above  recommended,  or 
something  analogous  to  it,  on  the  cotton  lands,  the  desideratum  expressed; 
in  Judge  Seabrook's  Report  will  be  attained.  More  cotton  will  ulti- 
mately, if  not  even  now,  be  produced  from  less  land  :  the  other  necessa- 
ries of  life  will  become  mainly  the  product  of  the  plantation  ;  a  new  staple 
will  be  introduced  to  employ  the  surplus  capital,  as  profitable  at  least  in 
its  acreable  products  as  cotton,  and  tending  to  the  constant  reparation,  as 
cotton  tends  to  the  constant  waste  of  the  fertility  of  the  land.  , 

I  will  not  tire  you,  Sir,  with  a  comparison  between  the  relative  profits 
of  wool  and  cotton  growing.  On  looking  over  the  answers  of  Southern 
gentlemen  to  Mr.  Walker's  Treasury  Circular,  (1845,)  I  find  that  the 
stated  profits  on  cotton  in  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  States,  west  of  Louisiana, 
range  from  1  to  8  per  cent,  on  capital  invested — the  average  of  all  the 
statements  being  about  4J  per  cent. ! 

I  may  remark  incidentally  that  in  your  own  able  replies  to  that  Circular, 
you  set  down  the  profits  of  rice  growing  between  1842  and  1845,  at  7  J  per 
cent.;  for  the  ten  preceding  years,  at  "  about  8  per  cent." 

A  reference  to  Letter  V.  will  show  you  how  these  profits  compare  with 
those  of  wool-growing.  Admitting  the  accuracy  of  the  data  therein  given, 
there  is  no  very  great  difference  in  the  cost  of  growing  a  pound  of  wool 
and  a  pound  of  cotton  ! 

We  come  now  to  the /0#rZA  point  of  view  in  which  we  are  to  regard  the 
profits  of  sheep  husbandry  in  the  Southern  States — "whether  independent 
of  preceding  considerations,  and  even  if  the  staples  furnished  by  sheep  hus- 
bandry proved  no  more  profitable,  in  direct  returns  on  capital  invested, 
than  some  of  the  present  staples,  it  would  not  be  better  economy,  on  the 
whole,  for  the  South  to  produce  the  raw  material  and  manufacture  do- 
mestic woolens,  particularly  for  the  apparel  and  bedding  of  slaves,  than  to 
be  dependent  for  them  on  England  and  Massachusetts  ]  " 

The  woolen  apparel  and  bedding  of  slaves,  when  no  part  of  it  is  manti 
factured  on  the  plantation,  costs  about  $6  per  head  per  annum.  The 
blankets  imported  from  England  weigh  about  4J  Ibs.  and  cost  a  little  over 


S6  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

$3.  Thu  Welsh  plains,  imported  from  England,  weigh%sually  net  far  from 
13  ounces  per  yard,  and  cost  from  65  to  70  cents;  and  fhe  Chelmsfords, 
a  heavy,  coarse  article,  from  Massachusetts,  from  50  to  58  cents. 

Now  what  is  the  cost  of  manufacturing  (including  wool  and  every  other 
expense,)  cloth  of  the  same  amount  of  stock,  and  better  quality,  than  Welsh 
plains  1  To  the  present  weight  of  the  cloth  per  yard  add  one-third,  and 
you  have  the  weight  of  the  wool  in  the  fleece — as  bought  of  the  farmer.*  If, 
then,  the  Welsh  plains  weigh  13  ounces  per  yard,  they  required  17^  ounces 
of  fleece-wool  as  stock.  Wool  of  the  quality  worked  into  "  plain  cloth  " 
or  "  sheep's  gray,"  in  this  State,  (New-York,)  many  shades  better  in  qual- 
ity than  the  stock  of  Welsh  plains,  has  averaged  from  June  to  December, 
1846,  from,  say,  20  to  22  cents  a  poundf — or,  if  pulled  from  the  pelts  of 
slaughtered  sheep,  as  is  the  case  with  large  quantities  of  it  worked  into 
these  cloths,  it  did  not,  during  the  same  period,  stand  the  purchaser-in  to 
exceed  18  cents  per  pound.  Assume  the  average  to  be  21  cents  per  pound, 
and  the  stock  of  a  yard  of  these  cloths  (17J  ounces)  would  cost  22J  cents. 

You  are  familiar  with  the  character  of  the  "  sheep's  grays  "  of  New- 
York.  They  are  worn  almost  universally  by  our  farmers.  Of  the  twenty- 
five  thousand  men  you  saw  at  the  State  Fair  at  Rochester,  at  least  three- 
fourths  of  them  ordinarily  wear  this  quality  of  cloth  for  pantaloons,  and 
say  one-half  of  them  for  coats.  Its  ordinary  weight  is  from  that  of  the 
Welsh  plain  to  16  ounces  per  yard,  and  its  style  and  expense  of  manufac 
ture  are  superior  to  those  of  the  former.  It  can  be  manufactured,  in 
chiding  use  of  machinery,  &c.,  and  every  process  after  the  wool  is  received 
in  the  fleece,  to  fitting  it  for  market,  for  eleven  cents  per  yard  !  A  mer- 
chant of  this  State  owns  a  manufactory,  employing  say  $25,000  or  $30,000 
of  capital,  which  turns  off  from  500  to  600  yards  of  cloth  per  diem — the 
fleece-wool  being  converted  into  finished  cloth  in  eight  days.  His  whole 
expenses,  including  use  of  manufactory,  averages,  according  to  his  own 
statements,  not  to  exceed  the  above  named  price  per  yard.  Add  this  sum 
to  the  cost' of  wool,  and  cloths  containing  an  equal  quantity  and  quality  of 
stock  with  Welsh  plains  would  cost  33f  cents  per  yard  ;  and  you  there- 
fore pay  for  this  class  of  cloths  about  one  hundred  per  cent,  beyond  the  first 
cost,  for  transportation,  duties,  and  manufacturer's  profits.  The  latter,  of 
course,  absorbs  most  of  the  immense  sum  thus  paid,  or  rather  thrown  away, 
annually  by  the  Southern  States.  The  Chelmsfords,  and  various  other 
woolen  goods  imported  by  you,  are  probably  manufactured  at  nearly  equal 
profits. 

Is  it  singular,  then,  that  "  acres  of  woolen  manufactories  "  are  now  in 
the  process  of  erection  in  the  North  1  or  that  existing  establishments 
are  declaring  dividends  of  from  ten  to  fifteen  per  cent.  1 J 

But  I  have  not  done  with  the  data  of  manufacturing.  The  manufac- 
turer above  alluded  to  has,  to  my  certain  knowledge,  exchanged  "sheep's 
grays  "  requiring  a  pound  of  stock  per  yard,  for  wool  of  the  same  quality 
as  the  stock,  giving  a  yard  of  cloth  for  i-J-  Ibs.  of  wool.  Calling  this  wool 

*  After  being  washed  in  the  ordinary  manner  on  the  back  of  the  sheep. 

t  Wool  has  risen  since  December. 

1 1  did  contemplate  an  enumeration  of  the  new  woolen  manufactories  now  buiHing,  or  in  contempla 
tfon,  within  fhy  knowledge,  in  this  Si  ate  and  New-England  ,  but  will  mention  but  a  few  of  the  most  im- 
portant ones.  The  Bay  State  Mills  now  in  process  of  erection  in  the  new  city  of  Lawrence,  Mass..  will 
Work  iiu  2,000,001)  Ibs.  of  wool  per  annum.  One.  of  the  mills,  200  feet  long  and  six  stories  high,  will  go  intd 
operation  thi*  summer.  The  machine-shop,  wool-house,  etc.,  'the  mere  offices,)  will  be,  including  wings, 
thirteen  hundred  feet  in  length,  »nd  three  stories  hi«h.  Their  very  srwcr  will  cost  $25,000  !  A  splendid 
Bteam  mill  hns  iust  gone  into  operation  in  Utica,  in  this  .^tate,  which  will  work  up  1.000,000  Ibs.  of  wool  psi 
annum.  Another  of  the  same  size  is  in  contemplation,  in  Utica ;  another  in  Syracuse ;  another  in  Auburn, 
&C  !  There  never  was  a  time  when  American  manufactures  stood  on  •»  firmer  basis,  or  were  making  bet 
ter  profits  with  a  prospect  of  having  them  continuous.  This  is  conceded  by  the  ablest  of  the  manajaciwert 
tktMsilviS.  as  1  shn.ll,  in  the  proper  place;  show. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  87 


21  cents  per  pound,  the  cloth  would  thus  cost  the  purchaser  36f  cents  per 
yard. 

Any  of  the  manufactories  doing  custom-work  will  manufacture  these 
goods  "  at  the  halves,"  so  that  a  yard  requiring  a  pound  of  stock  would 
cost  two  pounds  t;f  wool,  or  42  cents.  That  as  heavy  as  Welsh  plains 
would  thus  cost  45i  cents,  it  being  from  19J  to  241  cents  per  yard  less  than 
vou  now  pay.  Yet  here  the  manufacturer  of  custom-work  admits  the  sufifi 
ciency  of  the  profit,  by  asking  no  more. 

Blankets  are  of  still  coarser  wool,  having  the  appearance  of  Smyrna,  or 
inferior  South  American.  They  are  not  "  sheared,"*  which  diminishes 
the  waste.  Neither  do  they  need  dyeing  matter.  But  independent  of 
these  considerations,  calling  cost  of  stock  per  pound,  and  the  waste  from 
all  causes  the  same,  6  Ibs.  of  fleece-wool  would  make  a  blanket.  To  the 
wool  costing  21  cents  a  pound  add  11  cents  per  pound  (of  the  stock)  for 
manufacturing,  and  the  actual  cost  of  the  blanket  is  $1  92.  Have  them 
manufactured  by  the  halves,  and  they  would  cost  you  12  Ibs.  of  wool  each, 
or  $2  52. 

I  have  in  the  previous  estimates,  based  my  calculations  on  the  market 
price  of  the  lower  quality  of  medium  wools.t  But  there  is  another  and  a 
most  important  view  of  the  subject.  It  has  already  been  shown  that  the 
South  can  produce  wool,  to  any  desirable  extent,  at  a  sum  not  exceeding 
8  cents  per  pound — and,  in  favored  localities,  at  a  much  lower  rate.  By 
the  exchanging  system  (wool  for  cloth)  you  would  get  a  yard  of  cloth 
equaling  the  YVelsh  plain  in  stock,  and  superior  in  quality,  for  2  Ibs.  2|-  oz. 
of  wool,  costing  the  producer  just  171  cents  !  A  blanket  weighing  4i  Ibs. 
would  be  obtained  for  12  Ibs.  of  wool,  costing  96  cents  ! 

Does  this  sound  a  little  like  dreaming,  Sir  ?  I  ask  you  to  carefully 
examine  the  premises,  and  see  if  there  is  any  escaping  from  these  con 
elusions  1 

Will  the  South  continue  to  slumber  on,  thus  throwing  away  the  fruits 
of  her  industry  ]  Do  you  tell  me  that  her  people  know  nothing  about 
manufacturing,  and  have  no  taste  for  it  1  The  necessary  knowledge  is  as 
readily  acquired  by  a  Southern  as  a  Northern  man  ;  and  when  that  is  ob% 
tained,  and  there  is  a  prospect  of  profit  ahead,  the  taste  will  not  long  be 
wanting !  You  have  the  capital :  you  have  natural  facilities  to  an  un- 
bounded extent  both  to  propel  the  machinery  and  produce  the  staple. 
What  more  do  you  want  ]  What  more  can  you  ask  ?  A  joint  stock  asso- 
ciation of  planters,  at  any  suitable  point,  might  cause  a  manufactory  to  be 
erected  worth  say  $25,000,  under  the  direction  of  a  skillful  and  experi- 
enced machinist.  This  would  turn  off,  say,  500  yards  of  cloth  per  diem. 
If  the  machinery  was  in  all  respects  good,  and  the  water-powei  sufficient 
and  unfailing,  a  competent  and  responsible  Northern  manufacturer  could 
be  obtained  (if  desired),  to  take  the  establishment,  furnishing  hands,  &c.y 
and  work  the  wool  furnished  him  into  cloth  of  the  kind  before  described — 
containing  about  the  same  stock  with  Welsh  plains,  and  fitting  it  for  mar 

*  *  After  a  sufficient  number  of  fibres  have  been  torn  up  from  the  threads  by  the  teazles  or  cards  of  the 

*  gig-mill "  to  form  a  sufficiently  thick  nap  on  the  surface,  these  fibres  are  cropped  or  "  sheared  "  by  a  ma- 
chine for  that  purpose  ;  and  in  superfine  cloths  the  process  is  several  times  repeated,  each  time  cutting  off 
an  additional  portion  of  fibre,  which  is  called  "flocks."    A  dishonest  custom  now  prevails  among  somt 
manufacturers  of  working  these  flocks  again  into  the  body  of  the  cloth  to  give  them  weight,  denscness,  and 
apparent  firmness.    By  this  means  the  gigging  and  shearing  process  can  be  continued  on  thinnish  cloths  un- 
til a  beautiful  surface  is  obtained,  without  the  additional  thinness  and  lightness  consequent  thereon  being 
apparent  to  any  but  an  experienced  eye.  Sheep's  grays  and  other  coarse  "cloths  are  gigged  and  sheared  but 
slightly.    In  eome  manufactories  the  former  process  is  altogether  omitted,  and  the  cloth  is  simply 
••  brushed  "  prior  to  shearing.    Such  cloths  are  stronger,  but  do  not  look  as  well. 

t  Say  of  the  quality  of  common  South-Down  and  Native  and  Long  wools,  with  a  sufficient  dash  of  Me- 
rino blood  in  the  last  to  make  thAm  carding-wools,  and  to  bring  them  to  about  the  same  fineness  with 
ihe  firs1,  earned. 


SS  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

ket,  for  eight  or  nine  cents  a  yard.*  I  know  of  a  manufacturer,  at  no  great 
distance  from  me,  who  thus  takes  §t  manufactory  worth  perhaps  $8,000  or 
$10,000,  and  furnishes  the  cloth  (of  the  above  stamp,)  fitted  for  market,  for 
nine  cents  a  yard,  the  owner  furnishing  the  wool,  the  use  of  the  manufac- 
tory, and  the  dyeing  matter.f  The  supply  of  water  at  this  establishment 
fails  during  two  or  three  months  each  year  ;  and  one  competent  to  judge 
informs  me  that  seven  cents  would  be  better  pay  per  yard,  if  the  machine- 
ry could  be  kept  in  motion  the  year  round.  It  is  probable  that  it  would 
cost  rather  more  at  the  South  to  provide  the  necessary  fixtures,  obtain 
machinery,  etc. ;  and  it  would  also  cost  more,  for  a  period,  to  carry  on 
manufacturing,  from  the  greater  difficulty  of  obtaining  operatives  in  case 
of  losing  any  of  those  attached  to  the  establishment.  All  these  disadvan- 
tages, however,  not  of  much  importance  at  the  first,  will  soon  disappear. 
Slaves  should,  as  rapidly  as  the  nature  of  the  case  admits  of,  be  converted 
into  operatives,  ar.d  when  the  number  becomes  once  adequate  to  the  end,  it 
might  be  indefinitely  multiplied,  without  those  embarrassments  which  so 
rommonly  attend  the  attempt  to  mingle  white  and  black  labor. 

It  is  cheaper  to  manufacture  by  hand,!  (with  the  exception  of  carding, 
fulling,  and  dressing,)  than  to  purchase  your  slave  cloths  at  present  prices, 
if  slave,  costs  no  more  than  free  labor. 

On  the  average,  15  knots  of  warp,  and  15  of  Jill  ing,  make  one  yard  of 
flannel  about  5  quarters  wide.  The  ordinary  shrinkage  of  this,  in  fulling 
it  into  cloth,  is  one  quarter  in  length  and  width.  It  would  therefore  re- 
quire 40  knots  to  make  a  yard  of  fulled  cloth.  The  carding  here  in  small 
parcels  costs  3  cents  per  pound,  and  1S|-  cents  per  pound  for  fulling,  dye- 
ino-  and  dressing.  In  considerable  quantities,  the  carding  can  be  hired  done 
for  2  cents  per  pound,  and  the  other  processes  for  one  shilling  per  yard. 
Spinning  (by  considerable  quantities  and  for  "  cash-pay,"||)  can  be  hired 
done  for  7  cents  a  run  (20  knots)  for  warp,  and  5  cents  for  filling — averag- 
ing 6  cents  for  both.  Weaving  can  be  hired  done  for  6  cents  per  yard  (of 
flannel),  which  brings  it,  in  the  dressed  cloth,  to  8  cents  per  yard.  The  ac- 
count would  then  stand  thus  : 


Small  parcels. 

Large,  parcels. 

21  cents. 

21  cents. 

3     " 

2     " 

14     " 

12     " 

10     " 

8     " 

18|  » 

121  ., 

Total  N  

66|  cents. 

55|  cents. 

Making  55-\  cents  the  price  of  a  yard  of  domestic  cloth,  estimating  the 
wool  at  market  price  :  estimating  the  latter  at  oost  of  production  (8  cents) 
the  price  of  the  finished  cloth  would  be  42^  cents  per  yard,  and  it  is  & 
better  article  for  Wear  than  either  the  Welsh  plains  or  Chelmsfords.§ 

*  I  have  no  doubt  it  could  be  done  at  a  fair  profit  in  the  North  for  7  cents  per  yard.  I  nm  understood,  of 
course,  to  mean  that  the  manufacturer  pays  uo  rent,  insurance,  nor  for  repairs.  The  stockholders  furnish 
the  wool,  which  is  worked  up  by  the  former,  at  the  stipulated  price. 

t  Modern  ingenuity  has  reduced  the  expense  of  this  to  a  mere  trifle.  Most  of  the  "  sheep's  grays,"  you 
have  observed,  are  of  ferruginous  hue.  Those  of  this  color  are  dyed  principally  by  tan  bark— the  bark  of 
the  hemlock  (Abies  canadtnsis),  which  is  sold  here  at  $1  75  to  $2  a  cord  ! 

1 1  am  aware  that  to  "manufacture"  is  to  make  by  hand,  but  I  use  the  word  in  its  popular  and  more  gen. 
oral  signification.  It  would  have  been  better  to  have  compounded  a  word  from  the  Latin  marhiiM  and 
facto  (machinfacture  ?)  to  signiiy  made  by  machinery,  and  thus  expressed  the  two  ideas  by  properly  de- 
rived and  definitive  words. 

II  This  word  "  cash-pay  "  is  one  of  mighty  import  in  the  regulation  of  prices  in  the  interior,  where  a  very 
general  (but  now  decreasing)  system  of  barter  prevails,  and  under  which  Wealth  too  often  dictates  to 
Want  what  it  shall  receive  for  its  labor,  and  also  prescribes  the  prices  of  the  commodities  in  which  it  pays. 

5  Home-made  fabrics  are  usually  stronger  and  wear  better  than  those  made  by  machinery,  (or,  in  other 
words,  manufactured  cloths  outwear  mach.infacture.d  ones  !)  but  this  is  not  necessarily  so.  The  several 
processes  via  be  done  undoubtedly,  and  probably,  generally  are  more  perfectly  by  machinery  than  by 
hand.  But  in  machine-made  cloths  the  yarn  is  commonly  spun  liner,  so  there  is  less  stock  in  a  yard.  And 
Ihej  are  submitted  to  processes,  described  iu  a  previous  Note,  which  farther  impair  their  strength. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  89 

$1,500  will  set  up  a  carding  and  cloth-dressing  factory,  which,  with 
three  good  hands,  will  turn  off  50  yards  of  cloth  per  diem.  By  Table  I. 
it  appears  that  in  1839  there  were  but  114  of  these  factories  south  of  the 
Potomac  aud  west  of  the  Mississippi,  doing  an  annual  business  of  $320,- 
938,  while  in  the  single  State  of  New- York  there  were  323  factories,  doing 
an  annual  business  of  $3,537,337  !  Of  the  114  Southern  factories  66  were 
in  the  States  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee;  41  in  Virginia;  3  in  each  o. 
the  Carolinas ;  1  in  Georgia,  and  in  the  remaining  four,  none  ! 

The  number  is  decreasing  in  New-York,  as  manufactories  of  the  com- 
mon fabrics,  worn  by  farmers  and  other  laboring  men,  are  increasing  in 
every  direction — many  of  them  doing  custom-work  either  at  the  halves, 
or  at  a  fixed  sum  per  yard — and  all  of  them  exchanging  cloth  for  wool. 
By  either  of  these  methods,  the  cloth  can  be  obtained  as  cheaply,  perhaps 
cheaper,  than  to  manufacture  it  in  families.  But  circumstanced  as  you 
are  at  the  South,  you  can,  as  before  asserted,  manufacture  more  cheaply 
by  hand  (excepting  carding,  fulling  and  dressing),  than  to  import  your 
slave  cloths  at  present  prices,  if  provided  with  factories  to  perform  theex- 
cepted  processes.  Where  the  institution  of  slavery  exists,  and  where 
spinning,  weaving,  etc.,  can  be  done  in  those  intervals  of  bad  weather 
when  the  time  of  laborers  would  otherwise  be  entirely  thrown  away,  it  is 
doubtful  whether  any  extension  of  even  the  coarse  cloth  manufactories 
would,  or  ought  to,  in  an  economical  point  of  view,  banish  the  home-made 
article.  If  we  count  the  slave  labor  thus  saved  one-half  the  value  of  free 
labor,  and  dispense  with  the  fulling  and  dressing*  (which  we  usually  dis- 
pensed with  in  manufacturing  domestic  slave  cloths,  in  the  interior  of  the 
Carolinas,  Georgia,  etc.),  the  cloth  would  cost  but  20  cents  a  yard,  and  the 
dyeing  might  carry  it  to  22  cents.  Let  one-half  the  fabric  be  made  of  cot* 
ton,  and  the  cost  would  be  still  farther  reduced.f 


Since  the  above  was  written,  I  have  received  the  samples  of  Welsh 
plains,  Chelmsford  plains,  and  slave  blankets  forwarded  by  you.  None  of 
these  goods  exceed  in  quantity  the  estimate  I  have  put  upon  them  in  my 
preceding  remarks. 

The  Welsh  plain  which  you  state  cost  65  cents  per  yard  by  the  piece, 
(32  inches  wide,)  is  about  the  thickness  of  rather  heavy — but  not  the 
heaviest — sheep's  gray.  It  is  not,  however,  by  many  shades,  so  close  and 
firm  a  cloth,  for  the  wrant  of  equal  fulling ;  and  perhaps  even  this  would 
not  give  it  equal  firmness,  by  reason  of  the  loose  twist  of  the  yarn.  The 
yarn  is  considerably  coarser,  (larger  in  diameter,)  than  that  ordinarily  em- 
ployed in  sheep's  gray — but  it  derives  no  inconsiderable  portion  of  its 
bulk  (which  gives  the  cloth  its  thickness)  from  the  loose  and  imperfect  man 
ner  in  which  it  was  twisted  in  spinning.  This  is  particularly  the  case 
with  the  filling,  which  you  can  scarcely  detach  from  even  so  open  a  web, 
without  its  breaking  in  pieces.  Accordingly,  the  cloth  tears  very  easily 
lengthwise,  for  that  presenting  such  an  apparent  amount  of  stock. 

With  a  sufficient  amount  of  fulling,  dyeing,  (it  is  white,)  and  a  little 
gigging  and  shearing — or  simply  brushing — it  would  become  identical  in 

*  But  still  you  want  carding-machines,  to  card  the  wool ;  for,  by  hand,  It  Is  a  slow  and  expensive  process. 

f  I  was  shown  a  new  article  of  satinets  a  day  or  two  since.  It  was  double  or  broadcloth  width,  black. 
»nd  the  cotton  warp  dyed  black,  and  could  only  be  distinguished  from  a  very  fair  piece  of  black  broad* 
cloth  by  examining  the  cut  edge.  The  manufacturer  stated  that  the  cotton  warp  weighed  but  3  oz.  per 
yard  ;  but  I  do  not  credit  the  assertion.  One  is  strongly  inclined  to  suspect  that  a  cloth  of  this  character 
could  not  have  been  "got  up"  for  any  very  legitimate  purpose,  but  that  it  belongs  in  the  wooden-nutmeji 
•nd  horn-flint  category ! 

The  ordinary  satinet,  when  well  made,  is  a  profitable,  cheap  cloth. 

M 


90  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH 

appearance  with  heavy  sheep's  gray,  excepting  .in  the  quality  of  the 
wool.  That  is  inferior  to  any  I  ever  saw  in  a  single  piece  of  the  former. 
It  appears  to  be  of  two  qualities,  the  finest  about  like  the  Asia  Minor  or 
African  ("Smyrna"  or  "  Mogadore  ")  wools;  and  this  intermixed  with 
occasional  still  coarser  sharp  pointed  hairs,  which  could  come  only  from 
An  animal  not  many  removes  from  the  wild  Argali.*  In  both,  there  is  a 
peculiarly  dry,  harsh,  wiry  feeling,  not  found  in  North  American  wools, 
and  which  is  more  indicative  of  an  inferior  staple — of  brittleness,  and  want 
of  felting  properties — than  even  their  coarseness.  The  staple  is  not  appa- 
rently a  very  long  one.  I  conjecture  that  it  is  Iceland  wool — or  that, 
mixed  with  Orkney,  or  some  of  the  coarsest  short  or  medium  staple  wools 
of  Scotland. 

The  Chelmsfords,  (31  inches  wide,)  twilled,  undyed,t  cost,  you  inform 
me,  58  cents  per  yard.  The  plain  article,  (i.  e.  untwilled,)  28  inches  wide, 
costs  50  cents  per  yard.  The  sample  of  the  twilled,  forwarded  by  you,  is 
a  thicker,  decidedly  stronger  cloth,  with  larger  and  far  more  tightly 
twisted  yam,  than  the  sample  of  Welsh  plains.  The  wool  is  of  about  the 
same  quality,  though  at  first  view  it  strikes  you  as  decidedly  coarser,  as 
the  longer  nap  shows  more  of  the  coarse  fit>res  on  the  surface,  and  these 
are  rendered  more  conspicuous  still  by  their  variety  of  color.  But  on  re- 
solving portions  of  each  cloth  back  into  unmanufactured  wool,  I  can  detect 
little  or  ns  difference  in  its  fineness,  unless  it  be  that  the  stock  of  the 
Chelmsford  plains  possesses  none  of  those  peculiarly  coarse  fibres  or  hairs 
which  characterize  the  other.  The  wool  used  in  the  Chelmsfords  is  ap- 
parently of  a  unger  staple.  It  is  probably  South  American,  though  it 
may  be  Smyrna  or  Mogadore,  as  it  bears  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  w<_c"i 
of  the  broad-tailed  sheep  of  Asia  and  Africa.  You  state  that  the  Welsh 
is  generally  thotight  to  outwear  the  Chelmsfcrd  plain.  This  may  be  true 
of  the  ordinary  articles,  but  I  think  it  cannot  be  of  the  samples  forwarded. 
Of  these,  the  latter  possesses  nearly  double  the  strength  of  the  former 
and  is  much  the  heaviest  cloth. 

The  slave  blanket,  6  feet  11  inches  long,  by  6  feet  5  inches  wide,  weigh- 
ing 41  Ibs.,  you  state  cost  about  $3  12^  by  the  piece  (a  piece  containing 
16  blankets  costs  $50).  It  is  manufactured  of  a  very  coarse  and  a  long 
stapled  wool — not  much  fulled — with  a  long  nap  raised  on  both  surfaces. 
The  wool  in  quality  resembles  that  used  in  the  Chelmsfords. 

On  the  receipt  of  these  samples,  I  forwarded  a  specimen  of  the  Welsh 
plains  to  two  manufacturers  of  experience  and  perfect  pecuniary  respon- 
sibility, asking  them  at  what  price  per  yard  they  would  contract  to  furnish 
me  100,000  yards  of  cloth  of  the  same  style  and  equal  quality  with  the 
sample.  The  question  was  put  to  both  of  these  gentlemen  and  received 
by  them,  as  purely  a  commercial  one — the  opening  of  a  commercial  nego- 
tiation. Each  stood  ready  to  enter  immediately  on  the  fulfillment  of  a 
contract,  based  on  his  offer. 

The  following  is  the  answer  of  one  of  the  above  named  gentlemen  : 

HINBY  S.  RANDALL,  Esq.  MOBRISVILZ.E,  N.  Y.,  April  2C\  1847. 

Dear  Sir :  Yours  of  the  13th  is  at  hand  and  duly  noticed.  I  have  no  wool  of  the  quality  of  the 
sample  sent,  and  do  not  wish  to  work  foreign  wool.  I  would  like  to  make  for  you  100,000  yards 
like  the  sample,  out  of  our  American  or  domestic  wool.  I  would  make  it  as  thick  and  tight  as  the 
Mmple  sent,  32  inches  wide,  at  40  cents  per  yard.  I  could  not  say  how  much  less  it  would  cost 
to  get  up  the  article  from  the  same  kind  of  wool  with  that  used  in  the  sample.  I  do  not  know 
What  that  kind  of  wool  is  now  worth  in  market.  I  have  not  worked  any  of  it  for  two  years  past 

Yours,  truly,      '          C.  TILLING  HAST. 

*  Many  of  the  unimproved  breeds  have,  as  is  common  with  wild  animals,  a  coating  of  hair  over  a  finer  p* 
lAge  beneath,  and  it  is  difficult  to  perfectly  Feparate  them. 

T  A  small  portion  of  the  wool  employed  in  the  filling  is  blnck,  giving  the  cloth  a  dirty  drab  or  ash  color 
Rot  this  I  take  to  be  the  natural  color  of  the  wool. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


The  first  answer  of  the  other  manufacturer,  S.  Newton  Dexter,  Esq.  of 
Whitestown,   Oneida  Co.,  N.  Y.,   (head  of  the  Oriskany  Manufacturing 
Company,)  it  is  not  necessary  to  transcribe  entire.     Mr.  Dexter  informed 
me  that  his  machinery  is  calculated  for  the  manufacture  of  fine  cloth  ;  that 
ihe  carding  of  coarse  wool  would  injure  his  cards ;  that   its   manufacture 
would  throw  him  out  of  his  regular  course  of  business  ;  that  he  had  no 
wool  of  the  quality  used  in  the  sample  on  hand ;  that  he  should  be  com 
pelled  to  use  domestic  wool ;  and  that  for  these  reasons  and  some  other 
named  by  him,  he  could  not  undertake  to  fill  the  contract  at  less  than  42 
cents  per  yard — which  he  knew  would  be  considered  a  high  price. 

Mr.  Dexter  being  a  gentleman  equally  distinguished  for  his  correct  and 
able  business  character,  and  for  that  capacity  and  range  of  information 
which  give  value  to  his  opinions  on  all  the  topics  connected  with  this  in- 
\3stigation,  I  addressed  him  a  second  communication,  asking  him  what  he 
could  manufacture  the  cloth  for,  giving  him  time  to  procure  stock  of  the 
same  quality  used  in  the  sample.  I  also  inclosed  him  proof-sheets  of  the 
preceding  part  of  this  letter,  asking  him  his  opinion  of  the  correctness  of 
my  statements,  in  relation  to  the  general  cost  of  manufacturing,  &c.  The 
following  extracts  from  his  reply  will  be  read  with  interest : 

Col.  HENRY  S.  RANDALL  :  WHITESTOWN,  April  24, 1847. 

Dear  Sir:  Yours  reached  me  on  Wednesday.  There  is  no  doubt  at  all  but  what  if  I  felt  cer- 
tain that  wool  could  be  procured  of  the  quality  of  which  your  sample  was  made,  at  a  price  pro- 
portionably  low,  1  could  have  afforded  to  have  manufactured  the  cloth  at  37  cents  per  yard,  aa 

well  as  at  42,  and  use  our  coarse  native  wool,  at  a  probable  cost  of  25  cents There  has  been 

an  advance  of  more  than  70  per  cent,  in  the  price  of  lard  oil.  The  price  a  short  time  since  wa* 
55  cents.  The  last  I  bought  cost  95  cents  in  New-York.  Five  quarts  of  this  oil  are  wanted  to 

every  80  yards  of  these  cloths I  cannot  imagine  where  the  wool  was  from  out  of  which  the 

sample  was  made,  probably  from  Iceland — for  I  recollect  some  twenty  years  CLSQ  t.l»p  Oriskany 
Manufacturing  Company  obtained  just  such  wool  somewhere,  when  Ame'icar  wool  was  deemed 
too  high,  and  manufactured  it  into  miserable  satinets,  by  which  they  lost  a  great  deal  of  money 
The  wool  was  said  to  have  been  imported  from  Iceland.  I  was  one  of  the  Directors  of  the  mill 

then,  but  had  nothing  to  do  with  "  operating  "it 

You  request  my  opinion  as  to  the  correctness  of  your  statements  of  the  probable  cost  of  Welsh 
plains,  &c.,  and  generally  of  the  statements  put  forth  by  you  on  the  subject  of  woollen  manufac- 
tories. I  am  not  very  good  authority  as  to  the  cost  of  manufacturing  coarse  woolens,  never  hav- 
iug  done  much  in  that  way.  I  am  free  to  say,  however,  that  your  estimates  may  generally  be 
relied  on.  Certainly  you  have  allowed  liberally  for  what  would  have  been  the  cost  of  such  wool 
by  the  pound  last  year  ;  but  I  think  your  estimate  of  17£  oz.  of  wool  in  the  fleece,  out  of  which  to 
manufacture  one  yard  of  cloth  32  inches  wide,  similar  to  the  sample  inclosed  in  your  letter,  too 
low.  I  should  think  it  would  certainly  take  20  oz.,  or  \%  pounds.  The  allowance  of  11  cents  for 
manufacturing  will,  I  am  inclined  to  think,  pay  charges,  but  it  "will  not  afford  any  profit,  nor  in- 
terest on  capital,  nor  leave  anything  for  keeping  machinery  in  repair.  It  is  a  very  close  calcula- 
tion, when  fuller's  soap,  lard-oil.  &c.,  are  so  high. 

The  sheep's  gray  cloths  that  you  speak  of,  you  will  observe,  are  generally  not  quite  f  wide — 
eay  26  inches — while  the  sample  you  sent  me  was  32  inches.  One  pound  of  well  washed  fleece 
wool  will  make  a  yard  of  sheep's  gray  of  medium  quality ;  but  unless  the  goods  are  flocked,  the 
calculation  is  a  very  close  one  indeed. 

I  am  inclined  to  think  that  you  overestimate  the  profit  of  manufacturing  woolen  goods,  although 
I  admit  that  in  well-managed  institutions,  that  have  the  most  improved  machinery,  with  an  abun- 
dant capital,  the  profits  have,  at  times,  been  very  large  indeed,  and  our  friend  Samuel  Law- 
rence, of  whom  you  speak,  is  the  most  prominent  example  of  such  a  manufacturer  within  my 

knowledge Every  new  manufactory  erected,  if  built  with  judgment,  has  one  advantage 

over  those  already  in  operation,  and  that  is,  they  have  availed  themselves  of  all  the  improvements 
of  those  in  operation.  And  as  machinery  is  constantly  being  produced  at  cheaper  rates,  a  factory 

of  increased  capacity  will  probably  have  cost  less  money 

The  Oriskany  Manufacturing  Company  is  the  oldest  company  now  manufacturing  woolen 
goods  in  the  United  States.  They  have  made  satinets  which  have  sold  readily  at  $3  50  per  yard, 
and  have  made  cloths  which  have  as  readily  sold  for  $12  per  yard.  Satinets  full  as  good  can 
now  be  bought  at  "35  cents,  and  handsomer,  if  not  better  cloths,  for  $3.  What  a  change  is  here  ! 
And  yet  the  Oriskany  Manufacturing  Company  was  perhaps  never  doing  better  than  now.  This 
Company  availed  itself  of  the  opportunities  offered  last  year  to  obtain  wool  very  low,  to  purchase 
ft  supply  for  nearly  two  years.  This  year  the  business  will  be  good,  that  is,  pay  a  profit  of  10  per 
rent,  on  investments,  even  where  wool  is  purchased  at  current  rates ;  but  I  do  not  believe  it  wiil 
Bay  more.  I  will  furnish  you  with  a  brief  estimate  : 


92  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

A  mil!  will)  a  capital  of  $100.000  will  manufacture,  say  90,000  yards  of  6-4  cloth,  which 

will  bring  i.»  market  an  average  of  S I  50  per  yard,  or '. $233,006 

To  get  these  cloths  into  cash  (for  they  are  sold  at  8  mouths,  and  are  charged 
with  commission  of  5  per  cent.,  and  other  charges  equal,  in  all,  including  in- 
terest, boxing  and  transportation,  to  12  per  cent \. .  .$lfi,200 

Cott  of  225,00(f  ibs.  of  wool  at  30  cents 67.500 

3.300  gallons  sporm,and  lard  oil  at  $  1 3,300 

Soap,  soft  and  bard 3,500 

800.000  teazles 1,000 

Dyeing  materials  of  all  kinds 11,500 

Fuel 1,000 

Paper,  tape,  twine,  nails,  lumber,  cards,  caudles,  &c 3.000 

Labor,  $5,000  per  quarter,  or JsO.OOQ 

..     Insurance 2,000 

Total $122,000 

If  I  were  under  oath,  I  do  not  believe  I  should  alter  any  of  these  items — or,  at  least,  I  should 
add  as  often  as  I  diminished,  I  have  no  doubt.  You  may  think  SI  50  a  low  average  for  cloths, 
but  it  must  be  a  very  fair  cloth  to  bring  that  sum,  I  assure  you.  You  may  also  think  12  per  ceut. 
a  high  charge  for  getting  these  cloths  into  cash.  &c.,  but  it  is  scarcely  what  we  pay.  And  the 
.records  of  our  wool  book  will  show  that  30  cents  is  the  cost  of  such  wool  as  we  worlf.  And  our 
books  will  prove  that  it  has  taken,  for  many  years  past,  2J  Ibs.  of  wool  to  make  a  yard  of  broad- 
cloth.  There  is  13  per  cent,  left  for  prolits  here,  because  1  have  not  allowed  one  cent  for  repairs 
or  taxes,  or  for  the  agents'  salaries,  which  will  swell  the  expenses  fully  up  to  $124,500 — within  a 

fraction  of  swallowing  up  all  over  10  per  cent Well,  I  admit  that  10  per  cent,  is  a  great 

business  ;  but  you  speak  of  15,  and  that  is  going  too  far 

Very  respectfully  your  friend  and  obedient  servant,  S.  NEWTON  DEXTEIL 

If,  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing"  letters  : 

1st.  That  where  their  machinery  is  adapted  to  it,  manufacturers  are  will- 
ing to  make  and  sell  goods  of  the  same  amount  of  stock  and  style  of 
manufacture,  with  Welsh  plains,  out  of  domestic  wool  for  40  cents  per 
yard  ;  and  that  manufacturers  of  perfect  pecuniary  responsibility  are  ready 
to  contract  so  to  furnish  it.  This  (apart  from  the  small  item  of  transporta- 
tion) is  twenty -five  cents  per  yard,  or  about  thirty-nine  per  cent,  cheaper 
than  you  now  obtain  these  cloths  :  and  an  article  manufactured  from  do- 
mestic wool  would,  by  reason  of  the  far  superior  strength  and felting  prop- 
erty of  the  stock,  be  much  stronger  and  more  durable  than  the  foreign 
goods. 

2d.  It  will  be  farther  seen  that  a  skillful  and  responsible  manufacturer 
would  furnish  cloth,  corresponding  with  Welsh  plains,  at  37  cents  per  yard, 
could  he  procure  the  same  quality  of  wool  now  employed  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  those  cloths  at  a  price  proportionably  low  with  domestic  wools, 
calling  the  latter  25  cents  per  pound. 

Blankets  are  manufactured  at  equally  exorbitant  profits ;  and  the 
Chelmsfords,  paying  less  transportation  and  no  duties,  approach  the  same 
standard  of  profit — though,  judging  from  your  samples,  I  consider  them 
the  cheapest  goods. 

I  have  given  Mr.  Dexter's  undoubtedly  fair  and  candid  statements  in 
the  premises — my  object  in  these  letters  being,  as  I  once  before  have 
stated,  to  arrive  at  truth,  and  not  to  support  a  favorite  hypothesis,  or  to 
maintain,  at  all  hazards,  preconceived  views. 

My  own  estimates  and  those  of  Mr.  Dexter,  of  the  actual  cost  of  manu- 
facturing Welsh  plains,  it  will  be  seen,  differ — but  not  so  materially  as 
would  as  first  appear,  when  the  advance  of  wool,  soap,  oil,  &c.,  are  taken 
into  consideration.  I  have  no  doubt  that,  in  making  his  estimates,  he  had 
his  eye  more  on  the  better  and  more  elaborate  machinery  of  his  own  mills 
—the  more  expensive  arid  perfect  performance  of  the  various  manufactur- 
ing processes  common  in  .that  class  of  establishments,  than  on  the  cheaper 
machinery  and  processes  necessary  in  the  manufacture  of  coarse  goods. 
My  estimates,  or  rather  statements  of  cost  of  manufacturing  sheep's  gray 
you  will  recollect,  were  given  on  supposed  actual  knowledge  of  what  a 
manufacturer  of  these  goods  had  made  tliem  at.  To  ^hese  Mr.  IX  seerns 
*o  take  no  exceptions. 

In  relation  to  the  shrinkage  of  wool,  Mr.  Dexter  undoubtedly  bases  his 


RHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  93 


opinion  mainly  on  his  own  experience  in  manufacturing  broad  and  other 
sloths  of  fine  quality.  In  these,  the  shrinkage  of  the  wool  from  the  fleece 
is  concededly  at  least  half.  And  the  firm,  well  finished  and  honestly  made 
Oriskany  cloths,  I  have  no  doubt  require  the  highest  rate  of  shrinkage  in 
the  stock.  But  Mr.  D.  concedes  that  a  "  pound  of  fleece  wool  will  make  a 
yard  of  sheep's  gray  of  medium  quality."  Now  the  Welsh  plain,  of  the 
quality  of  the  sample,  weighs  13  oz.  per  yard.  As  I  have  already  stated, 
"  the  ordinary  weight  of  the  sheep's  gray  is  from  the  weight  of  the  Welsh 
plain  to  16  oz.  per  yard."  Thus  a  yard  of  "medium"  sheep's  gray  out- 
weighs a  yard  of  the  Welsh  plain.  If  this  is  so,  the  former,  of  course,  re- 
quires the  greatest  amount  of  stock,  the  mere  width  making  no  difference 
whatever.  Mr.  Dexter  was  led  into  this  error,  evidently,  by  overesti- 
mating the  weight  of  the  Welsh  plains — and  this  arose  from  the  smallness 
of  the  sample  submitted  for  his  inspection. 

His  statement  of  the  cost  of  manufacturing  broadcloths  by  the  Oriskany 
Company  is  entitled,  I  have  no  doubt,  to  the  fullest  reliance.  In  conse- 
quence of  his  remarks  on  this  topic  I  have  changed  a  statement  in  the 
preceding  part  of  this  letter  alluded  to  by  him,  for  fear  it  might  convey  an 
erroneous  idea.  Where  I  spoke  of  "  existing  establishments  declaring 
dividends  of  ffteen  per  cent.,"  I  have  changed  it,  so  that  it  now  reads 
"  from  ten  to  ffteen  per  cent.,"  these  being  the  dividends,  respectively,  of 
the  Oriskany  and  Middlesex*  Companies  last  year,  and  exhibiting  ab  lit 
the  range,  probably,  «f  well-managed  companies. 

*  Mr.  Lawrence's  great  establishment  at  Lowell,  which  works  up  1,700,000  ibs.  of  wool  per  smuttSB. 


94  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


LETTER  VHL 

PROSPECTS  OF  THE  WOOL  MARKET— FUTURE  DEMAND  AND  SUPPLY. 

Amount  of  Wool  which  may  be  grown  in  the  Southern  States. .  -If  the  demand  is  already  supplied,  where 
is  it  to  find  a  Market?... The  cheaper  Producer  can  drive  his  rival  rrom  the  market,  unless  the  disparity 
of  Capital  is  greatly  against  him... In  Individual  Capital,  the  South  possesses  the  advantage  over  the 
North. .  .The  South  can  produce  Wool  cheaper  than  New- York-  -  .North  of  latitude  40°  there  will  he  little 
difference  in  the  cost  of  producing  Wool. .  .Cost  of  producing  it  in  New-England — Pennsylvania — New-Jer- 
eey — Ohio. .  -The  Prairies — Their  vast  Extent — Their  anticipated  Advantages  for  Sheep  Husbandry — Flocks 
driven  on  them — Anticipations  blasted,  so  far  as  keeping  Sheep  economically  on  the  Natural  Grasses  is  con- 
cerned. .  .Character  of  the  Prairie  Grasses — Flourish  but  during  a  short  season,  rendering  the  time  of  fodder- 
ing  longer  than  even  in  New-England..  .Another  Difficulty — The  Wild  Grasses  which  the  Sheep  feed  on 
rapidly  become  extirpated — Statements  of  theEditor  of  the  Prairie  Farmer  confirmatory  of  this,  and  of  the 
assertion  in  relation  to  the  length  of  the  time  of  foddering. .  .His  proposition  to  introduce  Grasses  which  will 
grow  in  the  Winter — Impracticability — Reasons... Burning  over  the  Prairies— Objections.. -Indifferent 
quality  of  Prairie  Hay... Principal  Advantages  of  the  Prairies  for  Sheep  Husbandry  narrowed  down 
to  two— Cheapness  of  Land — Privilege  of  Pasturing  the  Public  Lands... The  latter  Advantage  rapidly 
lessening. .  .Cost  of  Preparing  the  Prairies  for  Sheep  Husbandry — Materials  for  Fences,  Buildings  and  Fuel 
entirely  wanting  on  the  interior  of  them. .  .Coal  for  Fuol  plenty,  but  not  economically  available. . .  Fences — 
those  of  earth  inadequate... Hedges — Require  fences  to  protect  them  while  growing — Their  success  then 
doubtful. .  .Timber  may  be  grown  for  all  of  the  above  purposes,  but  would  raise  the  cost  of  the  land  above 
those  of  the  Sheep  Lands  of  New- York  and  New-England... The  Shepherd  System  as  a  Substitute  for 
Fences — When  the  Sheep  become  numerous,  it  would  cost  more  to  keep  them  in  separate  flocks  than 
fences  cost  in  the;  East... Pasturing  in  Common  considered— The  Sheep  could  not  be  separated  for  any 
ordinary  purpose  of  Sheep  Husbandry — There  would  be  no  protection  against  theft,  promiscuous  inter- 
breeding, untimely  impregnation — No  way  of  effectually  combating  contagious  disorders— Reasons... Nat- 
ural and  unremovable  Objections  to  the  Prairies — Want  of  Water — A  Climate  far  mqre  fickle  and  excessive 
than  in  the  Eastern  States...  Shown  by  the  record  of  the  thermometrical  observations  kept  at  the  Military 
i^osts  of  the  United  States...  These  compared...  Wool-growing  in  Mexico — In  South  America. 

Dear  Sir :  In  recommending  the  production  of  Wool  on  a  scale  so  ex- 
tensive in  the  Southern  States,  as  I  have  done  in  my  preceding  Letters, 
the  fact  should  not  be  lost  sight  of,  that  were  these  recommendations  com- 
plied with,  one  of  the  great  staples  of  commerce  would  be  enormously 
increased.  The  Southern  States — the  ten*  to  which  I  have  confined  all 
my  preceding  remarks  and  estimates— to  say  nothing  of  those  in  the  same 
latitudes  west  of  the  Mississippi — include  an  area  of  450,000  square  miles, 
or  288,000,000  square  acres.  Allow  one- eighth  of  this  region  to  be  in  a 
state  of  cultivation, \  or  in  natural  pastures,  and  we  have  36,000,000  acres 
which  could  be  more  or  less  devoted  to  the  growth  of  wool.  Assuming 
that,  on  the  average,  every  two  acres  would,  under  proper  tillage,  support 
one  sheep,  (which,  it  seems  to  me,  they  might  do  with  no  very  material 
diminution  of  present  staples,)  and  that  the  sheep  average  3  Ibs.  per  fleece, 
the  annual  product  of  wool  would  be  54,000,000  Ibs.  This  amount  might 
be  indefinitely  added  to,  by  diminishing  the  production  of  present  staples, 
How  far  this  could  be  economically  done,  experience  must  determine. 

If  we  concede  the  adequacy  of  the  present  supply  of  wool  to  the  demand, 
*aking  the  world  together,  it  is  apparent  that  an  increase  of  50,  7.5,  or  100 
millions  of  pounds,  in  one  quarter,  will  produce  an  over-supply,  (and  thus 
greatly  depress  prices,)  unless  met  by  an  increased  demand,  or  a  corre 
spending  diminution  in  production,  in  some  other  quarter.  I  do  not  concede 
the  adequacy  of  the  present  supply,  but  shall,  however,  waive  that  point. 

The  question  now  arises,  where  is  the  wool  thus  produced  to  find  a 
market,  if  the  South  should,  within  the  next  ten,  fifteen,  or  twenty  years, 

*  Nine,  besides  that  portion  of  Louisiana  east  of  the  Mississippi 

t  Probably  the  anrmnt  in  cultivate  n,  including  that  in  natural  pasture,  is  set  down  pretty  high.  It  may 
no*  exceed  a  tenth. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  .SOUTH.  95 

furnish  such  a  surplus  1     Where  is  the  present  supply  to  be  diminished, 
or  the  demand  increased  ] 

Where  agricultural  competition  exists,  as  a  matter  of  course  the  pro 
ducer  who  can  supply  the  market  with  the  least  expense  to  himself,  has 
an  advantage  which  nothing  but  a  disparity  greatly  against  him  in  capital 
can  overcome.  Large  capital,  satisfied  with  less  gains  than  small  capital, 
Trill  sometimes  sustain  competition  with  the  latter,  with  the  advantages  of 
the  cheapness  of  production  somewhat  against  it.  But  where  the  differ- 
ence in  first  cost  is  considerable,  the  cheaper  producer  can  always  drive 
his  rival  from  the  market.  The  aggregate  agricultural  capital  in  a  region 
of  given  size  in  New-York,  probably  would  ordinarily  exceed  that  of  an 
equal  territory  in  South  Carolina  or  Georgia.  But  it  is  not  so  with  indi- 
vidual or  personal  capital.  While  the  agricultural  territory  and  capabilities 
of  the  latter  States  are  in  a  comparatively  few  hands,  those  of  New-York 
and  New-England  are  parceled  out  among  a  multitude  of  small  holders, 
who  must  realize  the  first  class  of  agricultural  profits,  to  support  them- 
selves and  their  families.  The  advantage  of  capital  is  therefore,  in  reality, 
on  the  side  of  the  South. 

But  independent  of  this  consideration,  I  have  already  attempted  to  show 
that  the  South  can  produce  wool  so  much  cheaper  than  New- York,  that 
the  latter  will  stand  no  chance  whatever  in  competing  with  her  more 
favored  rival — so  soon  as  that  rival  sees  fit  to  avail  herself  of  her  advan- 
tages. North  of  latitude  40°  there  will  be  but  little  disparity  in  the  cost  of 
producing  wool ;  and  therefore  if  the  South  can  drive  New- York  to  relin- 
quish the  production  of  this  staple,  she  can  do  the  same  with  all  portions 
of  the  United  States  lying  north  of  this  parallel,  unless  on  the  shores  of  the 
Pacific ,  where  the  isothermal  line  is  at  least  5°  north  of  its  course  east  of 
the  Missouri.  I  will  now  enter  upon  some  specifications,  and,  where  ne- 
cessary, proofs,  to  sustain  this  proposition. 

New-England  has,  concededly,  no  advantages  over  New- York  for  the 
cheap  production  of  wool.  Northern  Pennsylvania  is  higher,  colder,  an'd 
more  sterile  than  most  of  southern  New- York.  South-eastern  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  the  fertile  portions  of  New-Jersey,  are  the  natural  producers  of 
bread-stuffs  for  the  less  favored  regions  of  those  States,  and  of  provisions 
)f  all  kinds  for  the  New-York  City  and  Philadelphia  markets.  The  high 
^rice  which  good  lands  bear  in  the  vicinity  of  such  markets,  would  prevent 
them  from  competing  with  cheap  interior  lands  in  wool-growing.  There 
are  sheep  lands  of  good  quality  in  western  Pennsylvania;  and  in  the 
southern  section,  the  winters  are.  perceptibly  a  little  shorter  than  in  New- 
York.  This  will  render  the  production  of  wool  upon  them  somewhat 
less  expensive  than  in  the  latter  State,  but  it  will  not  reduce  it  low  enough 
to  allow  them  to  compete  with  the  cheaper  lands  and  still  shorter  win- 
ters of  the  South.  The  same  remarks  will  apply  to  the  hilly  region  con 
stituting  the  south-eastern  portion  of  Ohio. 

Proceeding  still  farther  west,  we  find  a  region  extending  to  a  vast  distance 
whose  topographical  and  geological  features,  flora,  &c.,  taken  in  connec- 
tion, effectually  distinguish  it  from  the  territory  lying  east  of  the  Missis- 
sippi and  Ohio.  Vast  plains,  called  prairies,  (so  named  by  the  early  French 
settlers  from  t-he  French  word  signifying  meadow,)  which  can  be  purchased 
of  the  Government  in  the  natural  state  for  $1  25  per  acre,  and  which  are 
usually  covered  with  natural  grasses — would  seem,  if  these  grasses  are 
adapted  to  the  summer  and  winter  subsistence  of  sheep,  and  there  are  no 
counterbalancing  disadvantages,  to  unite  facilities  for  the  cheap  production 
of  wool  not  possessed  in  any  other  region  of  our  country.  And  such  supe- 
riority has  actually  and  often  been  claimed  for  them. 


96  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

I  propose  to  investigate  this  question  at  considerable  length,  because  thero 
are  various  considerations  which,  at  first  view,  give  great  plausibility  to  this 
claim.  And  if  the  prairios  can  produce  wool  cheaper  than  the  South,  it  is 
in  vain  for  the  latter  to  embark  in  the  business — at  least,  beyond  the  ex- 
tent of  supplying  the  home  demand — for  BO  limitless  is  the  extent  of  these 
natural  pastures  throughout  the  whole  northern  basin  of  the  Mississippi, 
that  they  could,  perhaps,  supply  the  entire  market  demand  of  the  United 
States  for  this  staple,  for  an  indefinite  period,  vast  as  that  demand  is  des- 
tined to  be. 

But  a  very  few  years  have  elapsed  since  the  most  sanguine  anticipations 
were  indulged  in,  by  large  numbers  of  our  Northern  and  Eastern  flock- 
masters,  in  relation  to  the  superior  capabilities  and  advantages  of  the  prai- 
ries over  Eastern  lands  for  sheep-walks ;  and  large  flocks  were  driven  hun- 
dreds of  miles,  lands  purchased,  and  establishments  created,  to  realize 
these  supposed  advantages.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  these  anticipa- 
tions— so  far  at  least,  as  keeping  sheep  on  the  natural  herbage  of  the  prai- 
ries is  concerned,  were  briefly  and  summarily  blasted.  Many  of  the  flocks 
driven  there,  actually  perished  in  the  midst  of  seeming  plenty.  On  the 
whole,  the  experiment  is  generally  conceded  to  have  resulted  in  failure. 
Let  us  see  whether  this  was  occasioned  by  mismanagement — temporary 
and  removable  causes — or  whether  we  must  look  for  those  causes  in  na- 
tural and  unchangeable  circumstances. 

Apportion  of  the  wild  prairie  grasses  are  relished  by  sheep,  and  they  thrive 
on  them  ;  but  these  grasses,  as  well  as  all  the  other  varieties  growing  there, 
flourish  during  but  an  unusually  limited  portion  of  the  season.  They  be- 
gin to  dry  up  and  lose  their  nutritive  qualities  in  midsummer,  and  long  be- 
fore the  foddering  season  has  commenced  on  the  bleakest  highlands  of 
New-England,  they  are  as  unfit  for  the  subsistence  of  sheep,  as  dry  brush  ! 
Where  the  natural  grasses  are  alone  depended  upon,  the  foddering  season 
on  the  prairies,  north  of  latitude  40°,  will  range  from  six  to  seven  months 
-•^rarely,  perhaps,  fall  short  of  six,  on  lands  which  have  been  previously 
depastured,  provided  the  sheep  are  maintained  in  good  condition. 

And  there  is  another  material  difficulty  with  the  prairie  grasses  which 
sheep  feed  on.  They  soon — many  of  them  even  in  a  single  season — be- 
come extirpated  if  kept  fed  down  while  growing.  This  is  so  singular  a 
fact  in  vegetable  physiology,  that  I  chose  to  state  it  in  the  words  of  an  in- 
telligent resident  of  the  prairie  region — whose  local  pride  and  partiali- 
ties would  naturally  prompt  him  to  give  as  favorable  a  coloring  to  the 
agricultural  advantages  of  his  chosen  home,  as  a  regard  for  truth  would 
admit  of.  From  a  communication  of  J.  Ambrose  Wight,  Esq.,  Editor  of 
the  Prairie  Farmer,  to  L.  A.  Morrel* — replete  with  useful  information, 
and  characterized  by  an  admirable  candor — I  make  the  following  extracts : 

i;  Sheep  or  other  stock,  but  more  particularly  the  former,  put  upon  a  given  piece  of  wild 
prairie,  and  confined  to  it,  unless  the  range  be  very  large,  would  not  continue  to  keep 
fit  one  season  after  another,  though  they  would  at  first ;  but  if  allowed  a  new  range  each 
season,  they  would  always  keep'  fat.  The  reason  is  this :  Sheep  in  such  cases  will  go  over 
iheir  range  and  select  such  food  as  they  prefer,  and  will  keep  at  it  until  it  is  gone.  Hence' 
the  wild  bean  and  pea  vine,  and  a  few  other  kinds  of  plants,  will  obtain  their  constant  at- 
t  entions,  and  will  be  kept  so  short  that  they  will,  on  a  given  piece  of  land,  die  out  the  first 
year.  Therefore  if  turned  out  on  the  same  grounds  another  season,  the  best  food  will  be 
gone,  and  the  poorer,  with  which  they  must  then  take  up,  alid  which  itself  gets  continually 
poorer,  will  not  sustain  them  in  their  first  condition.  A  small  flock  of  sheep  will  thus  run 
over  a  large  extent  of  ground. 

Hence  the  utter  hollowncss  of  a  supposition  which  appears  to  be  common  at  the  East, 
that  large  flocks  of  sheep  can  be  sustained  on  the  wild  grass  of  the  prairies  alone.  Thero 
are  many  places,  it  is  true,  where  a  fanner  might  keep  a  large  flock  on  tha  wUi  prairies 

*  American  Shepherd    pp.  138—145. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  97 

daring  the  summer  months  with  profit,  provided  he  had  not  too  many  neighbors  in  the 
same  business.  But  such  flocks  would  continually  lessen  their  own  range,  at  the  same  time 
that  it  is  lessening  by  immigration,  settlement  and  extended  culture.  I  have  been  in  the  coun- 
try about  nine  years;  having  gone,  at  the  first,  into  an  entirely  unsettled  region,  and  have 
paid  much  attention  to  the  matter ;  and  it  is  my  belief  that  the  wild  prairies  are  desirable 
for  wool-growing  to  a  very  limited  degree  ;  but  that  the  cultivated  prairies  are  desirable  for 
this  purpose  to  an  almost  limitless  extent." 

The  following  fully  sustains  my  preceding  statements  in  relation  to  the 
time  of  foddering.  In  answer,  to  Mr.  Morrel's  question,  "  what  length  of 
rime  is  foddering  necessary  in  Northern  Illinois  1"  Mr.  Wight  says  : 

"  The  seasons  have  been  extremely  variable  since  my  residence  here — now  nearly  nine 
years.  The  winter  of  1842  and  '43  was  the  severest  one  since  the  settlement  of  the  State; 
and  the  foddering  season  lasted  from  the  middle  of  October  to  the  middle  of  April.  The 
winter  of  1843  and  '44,  and  the  present  one  (1844-5)  would  require  foddering  for  a  less  time, 
by  full  two  months.  This  is  on  the  supposition,  however,  that  good  artificial  pasturage 
is  provided.  If  the  wild  prairies  are  relied  on  alone  for  pasture  and  hay,  full  two  months 
must  be  added  to  the  foddering  season  ;  and  stock  would  barely  get  through  at  that ;  and  I 
think  that  sheep,  in  multitudes  of  instances,  would  perish.  In  this  latitude  with  Timothy 
Red-top  and  Clover  pastures,  the  average  time  would  be  from  4£  to  5  mouths.  If  a  <Wd 
blue-grass  pasture  were  provided,  in  such  winters  as  the  last  and  present,  it  might  be  reduced 
to  two  months,  and  I  am  told  that  some  so  provided  for,  one  hundred  miles  south  of  here, 
have,  the  present  winter,  scarcely  foddered  at  all.  I  apprehend,  however,  that  our  winter* 
here  will  always  be  variable,  and  that  it  will  be  far  more  difficult  to  predict  their  len^t'i 
and  intensity  than  in  New-England." 

In  another  place  Mr.  Wight  says  : 

"  If,  however,  the  question  is  asked,  '  Does  not  the  pasture  on  the  prairies  fail  early  in  au 
tutrm,  so  as  to  compel  the  removal  of  sheep  to  other  pasture  before  it  is  time  to  go  into  white:* 
quarters  ?'  I  answer,  yes — long  before.  In  many  sections  the  prairies  afford  no  adequate 

pasture  for  dairy  purposes  after  the  first  of  September The  wild  grasses  are  extreme 

ly  vigorous  while  they  last,  but  are  all,  without  an  exception,  short-lived." 

The  great  diminution  of  the  foddering  season,  where  the  domestic  01 
cultivated  grasses  are  already  made  use  of,  which  Mr.  W.  anticipates  may 
result  from  the  introduction  of  blue-grass,  will  be  found  utterly  unattain- 
able. Blue-grass  (known  as  June  or  spear  grass),  is  one  of  the  common- 
est varieties  in  New- York  and  New-England.  Peoria,  in  Illinois,  is  in 
about  the  same  latitude  with  the  City  of  New- York,  and  consequently  that 
portion  of  Illinois  north  of  Peoria,  corresponds  with  a  considerable  portion 
of  New- York,  and  all  of  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island.  And  the  climate 
of  the  former  is  not  less  rigorous,  and  is  far  more  variable,  than  in  the  lat- 
ter named  States,  as  I  shall  presently  show.  Now  in  no  portion  of  New- 
York  or  New-England  will  the  blue-grass  reduce  the  foddering  season  to 
two  months,  or  anything  like  it.  It  is  true  that  small  flocks  will  pick  up 
a  subsistence  on  this  and  other  grasses  in  the  winter,  when  the  around  is 
not  covered  with  snow,  and  if  the  pastures  are  not  fed  down  in  the  fall.  To 
suppose,  however,  that  this  or  any  other  herbage  will  continue  to  grow, 
when  the  earth  is  frozen  almost  to  the  consistency  of  a  solid  rock,  far  be- 
low its  lowest  roots,  is  an  obvious  error.  In  New- York,  the  ground 'remains 
so  frozen  usually  during  the  entire  winter,  and  in  Northern  Illinois  the  cold 
.is  equally  intense,  and  there  is  less  snow  to  protect  the  earfh  from  its  ef- 
fects. The  ground,  therefore,  is  frozen  quite  as  solidly,  and  considerably 
deeper  than  in  the  former.  Grass  left  standing  for  winter  consumption, 
in  either  State,  becomes,  by  freezing  and  thawing,  tough  and  innutritions' 
In  New- York,  the  larger  flock-masters  have  long  since  ceased  to  make  any 
provision  of  this  kind,  for  winter-feeding—preferring  to  keep  their  sheep 
in  yards,  and  entirely  from  grass. 

As  Mr.  Wight  himself  very  accurately  remarks  in  another  part  of  his 
communication,  "  It  is  found  to  be  decidedly  better  to  keep  sheep  up  in 
small  nocks,  with  very  little  ground  to  run  over,  while  kept  on  hay,  than 


98  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH, 

to  let  them  run  out  a  part  of  the  time  and  get  such  grass  as  they  can  pick, 
while  there  is  not  enough  to  sustain  them."  But  the  reason  for  this  given 
by  Mr.  W.,  that  "  they  eat  much  dirt,  are  liable  to  be  poisoned  and  lose 
their  appetite  for  hay,"  is  very  far  from  being  the  correct  one.  Green 
grass  always,  in  a  great  measure,  deprives  sheep  of  their  appetite  for  dry 
hay.  The  grass  thus  left  standing  loses  its  nutritive  qualities,  so  that  it 
will  but  imperfectly  sustain  animals,  and  when  the  snow  falls  and  covers 
it,  sheep  not  only  cannot  obtain  it,  but  they  are  left  without  appetite  for 
other  food.  Open  winters,  i.  e.,  winters  without  snow,  are  always  particu- 
larly fatal  to  sheep  which  are  suffered  to  run  on  the  pastures,  in  this 
climate,  and  for  the  reasons  above  assigned.  They  sometimes  appear  to 
be  doing  well  enough  up  to  toward  the  close  of  February  ;  but  they  are 
imperceptibly  losing  condition  and  strength,  and  when  the  trying  month 
of  March,  with  its  stormy  and  fickle  weather,  sets  in,  they  begin  to  drop 
off,  and  all  sorts  of  diseases — grub  in  the  head,  "  the  distemper,"  etc. — are 
assigned  as  the  causes. 

It  is  in  vain  to  attempt  to  shorten  the  foddering  season  north  of  latitude 
40°,  on  this  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  by  seeking  for  any  plant  to  con- 
tinue its  growth  and  tlius  produce  green  feed  in  winter,  unless  in  limited 
districts,  and  on  the  margins  of  large  bodies  of  water.  No  plant  can 
draw  its  nutriment  from  solidly  frozen  ground. 

Mr.  Wight  proposes  burning  over  portions  of  the  prairies  at  intervals, 
to  cause  the  vegetation  to  start  afresh,  and  thus  prolong  the  grazing  sea- 
son on  the  prairies.  Mr.  Flower  makes  the  same  suggestion.  In  some 
localities,  and  under  favorable  circumstances,  this  might,  temporarily,  ac- 
complish the  desired  object ;  but  as  population  increases,  and  buildings 
and  inclosures  are  erected,  it  would  constantly  lead  to  those  unfortunate 
accidents,  which  have  already,  I  believe,  led  at  least  one  of  the  Western 
States  to  prohibit  by  severe  penal  enactments,  the  setting  fire  to  the  dead 
grass  of  the  prairies.  Besides,  we  have  Mr.  Wight's  own  authority  for 
stating  that  sheep  actually  extirpate  those  of  the  prairie  grasses  which  they 
will  feed  on,  so  that  burning  over  could  not  cause  these  to  re-sprout  the 
same  season  or  afterward. 

It  requires  but  little  knowledge  of  the  habits  of  the  sheep  to  know  that 
grasses  rejected  by  it  in  summer,  will  not  constitute  a  proper  aliment  for 
it  in  winter,  and  that  if  confined  to  such  food,  it  will  not  prosper.  A  few 
sheep  with  liberty  to  pick  and  waste,  will  live  on  very  inferior  herbage  in 
either  summer  or  winter,  (and  hence  the  sanguine  and  erroneous  state- 
ments put  forth  by  owners  of  small  flocks  on  the  prairies,)  but  confine 
flocks  to  the  same  food — flocks  which  are  too  numerous  to  be  allowed  the 
privilege  of  selection  and  rejection  in  their  food,  and  the  disastrous  conse- 
quences will  not  be  long  in  exhibiting  themselves. 

In  reviewing  the  preceding  facts,  the  principal  advantages  of  the  prai- 
ries for  the  production  of  wool  seem  to  be  narrowed  down  to  two  points  . 
the  cheapness  and  fertility  of  the  lands,  with  a  contingent  right  inuring  to 
the  settler  to  use,  without  paying  for  it,  all  the  unappropriated  public  do- 
main !  If  we  admit  that  the  soil  of  the  prairies  is  as  well  adapted  to  tho 
artificial  grasses  as  that  of  New- York  or  New-England,  (a  point  which,  to 
say  the  least  of  it,  is  doubtful,  for  experience  has  shown  it  to  be  other- 
wise in  Michigan  and  some  other  portions  of  the  West,)  the  only  peculiai 
and  exclusive  advantages  which  the  prairies  have  over  the  lands  of  the 
old  Middle  and  Eastern  States,  is  their  cheapness  and  freedom  from  rent 
where  unsettled.  Emigration  is  rapidly  abridging  the  latter  privilege, 
however — more  rapidly  than  can  well  be  appreciated  without  a  reference 
to  the  statistics  of  the  several  new  North-western  States.  And  it  will  be 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE   SOU'l  if.  00 

remembered  that  when  a  prairie  is  belted  round  by  population,  and  de 
pastured  by  numerous  flocks  and  herds,  its  better  grasses — at  least  fox 
sheep — would  be  soon  exterminated,  and,  consequently,  though  there 
might  be  ten  or  fifty  thousand  acres  of  common  and  free  pasturage,  it 
would  be  of  trifling  avail  to  the  flock-master. 

But  taking  this  privilege  for  what  it  is  worth,  and  taking  into  account 
the  difference  in  the  price  of  lands — calling  one  $1  25,  and  the  other. $2C 
per  acre — and  then,  in  my  judgment,  the  Eastern  will  prove  cheaper,  all 
things  considered,  than  the  prairie  lands,  for  Sheep  Husbandry.  I  speak, 
of  course,  of  the  prairies  as  wholes — not  of  that  narrow  margin  of  each, 
which  is  attached  to  the  farms  lying  partly  on  the  outer  and  wooded  lands. 

The  prairies  must  first  be  plowed,  undoubtedly,*  to  seed  them  down  ef- 
fectually with  the  cultivated  grasses.  It  requires  from  four  to  six  yoke  of 
oxen,  says  Mr.  Solon  Robinson,  to  break  up  from  one  to  one  and  a  half 
acres  per  diem.  Suppose  we  concede  this  expense  to  be  paid  for  by  the 
first  grain  crop  used  as  a  covering  for  the  grass  ;  then  the  prairies  are  to 
be  fenced — adequate  buildings  and  other  fixtures  provided,  for  the  use  of 
u  family,  the  storage  of  hay,  the  shelter  of  animals,  &c.  Where  are  the 
materials  for  these  things  and  for  fuel  to  be  found,  on  a  plain  wholly  desti- 
tute of  trees,  unless  on  the  occasional  "  islands" — and  where  stones  are 
entirely  wanting,  excepting  sparsely  scattered  bowlders,  and,  very  rarely, 
rocky  ridges  or  cliffs  ]  Conceding  that  all  the  wood  on  the  margins  of  the 
prairies  will  not  be  wanted  for  the  local  supply — which,  as  a  general  thing, 
it  undoubtedly  will — what  would  be  the  cost  of  fences,  buildings  and  fuel, 
where  every  stick  was  transported  from  three  to  fifteen  milest  by  landi 
carriage  ]  Fuel,  it  has  been  said,  can  be  obtained  from  the  local  deposi- 
tions of  coal.  It  is  true  that  Illinois  and  south-western  Indiana,  at  least,, 
constitute  one  vast  coal  basin.  But  any  one  possessing  the  slightest  prac- 
tical accjuaintance  with  the  subject,  knows  that  it  requires  associated,  ag- 
gregate and  corporate  wealth,  to  carry  on  mining  operations  to  an  extent 
sufficient  to  steadily  and  efficiently  supply  a  considerable  market.  Even* 
in  a  level  country  where  coal  is  covered  with  a  deep  superficial  deposi- 
tion of  earth,  individuals  may,  where  the  stratum  is  cut  through  or  uncov- 
ered in  ravines  or  the  beds  of  streams,  quarry  their  own  coal ;  but  such* 
opportunities  are  rare.  The  idea  that  individuals  would  find  it  within  the- 
compass  of  their  means  to  sink  vertical  shafts  and  raise  coal — each  one: 
for  himself — on  the  bosoms  of  the  prairies,  is  utterly  preposterous.  Coal 
has  never  yet  borne  a  price  in  our  cities,  which  would  justify  even  Compa- 
nies in  lifting  it  by  vertical  shafts.  Let  the  coal,  however,  be  as  cheap  a» 
it  may  be,  at  the  points  of  excavation,  the  mere  cartage  of  it,  for  the 
wants  of  a  five-months  winter — where  the  thermometer  frequently  indi- 
cates a  degree  of  cold  from  5°  to  30°  below  0° — will  be  an  onerous  tax. 
on  agricultural  industry.  And  canals  can  never  furrow  the  bosoms  of 
most  of  those  vast  dry  plains ;  and  ages  must  elapse  before  railroads  wills 
so  interlace  them,  as  to  bring  coal  cheaply  within  the  reach  of  population 
scattered  over  their  entire  surfaces. 

If  we  suppose  that  adequate  buildings  can  be  constructed,  with  suffi- 
ient  economy,  with  transported  timber,  the  question  still  remains,  What! 
esource  is  there  for  fences  ]  Fences  of  earth  have  been  proposed,  but  these 
will  not  stand  long  enough  to  pay  for  building,  unless  their  sides  are  con- 
structed at  such  an  angle  as  would  be  wholly  inadequate  to  "  turn  "  sheep 
Hedges,  besides  the  other  considerable  expense  of  cultivating  them,  would 

*  I  have  seen  it  stated  that  the  seeds  of  the  cultivated  grasses  would  "catch  "  sown  on  the  surface  of  the 
prairie  sod  !  That  they  would  do  this  effectually  and  generally,  is  an  assertion  which  no  practical  far-?  rr 
will  credit. 

1  1'rairies  are  from  one  to  thirty  mQes  in  diameter. 


100  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


require  fences  to  protect  tlicm  from  animals,  until  they  attained  a  consider- 
ble  size ;  and  it  is  exceedingly  questionable  whether  any  good  hedge- 
plant  can  be  found,  which  is  capable  of  resisting  the  rigorous  and  fickle 
climate  of  the  North-western  States.  The  different  thorns,  and  other  plants 
used  in  England,  have  generally  failed  in  all  the  Northern  States. 

Timber  may  be  grown,  both  for  fuel,  houses  and  fences,  by  the  proper 
planting,  cultivation  and  protection  of  suitable  trees — but  the  expense  and 
delay  attending  this  course  would  raise  the  prairies  to,  or  above  the  piice 
of  New-York  and  New-England  sheep  lands. 

It  has  been  claimed  that  the  shepherd  system  will  render  fences  unne- 
cessary, to  any  but  a  very  limited  extent,  on  the  prairies.  Now,  while  there 
is  but  here  and  there  a  settler  on  the  margins  of  some  of  these  great  plains, 
and  while  a  flock  of  sheep  can  constantly  seek  new  pasturage,  as  the  old 
fails,  over  a  boundless  range,  without  encountering  another  man's  flock, 
sheep  require  so  little  looking  after  that  the  shepherd  system  is  entirely 
feasible  and  economical,  notwithstanding  the  high  price  of  labor.  Under 
such  circumstances,  one  man,  provided  with  a  horse  and  a  brace  of  dogs, 
can  perhaps  give  the  necessary  attention  to  1,000  sheep,  and  have  some 
time  for  other  occupations.  But  this  state  of  things,  terminated  already  on 
most  of  the  prairies  this  side  of  the  Mississippi,  will  soon  be  unknown 
even  on  those  in  the  territories  bordering  on  the  Missouri  and  its  west- 
ern tributaries.  When  wool-growers  become  to  any  degree  numerous  on 
the  borders  of  the  prairies,  (as  they  certainly  soon  will,  if  these  regions  do 
possess  any  peculiar  advantages  for  this  branch  of  husbandry,)  how  arc 
sheep  to  be  kept  separate,  without  that  multitude  of  shepherds  which  the 
same  services  require  in  Spain,  Germany,  or  Australia  1 — and  whose  labor 
and  subsistence*  would  cost  more,  during  a  series  of  years,  than  thefen-ccs 
in  regions  where  wood  and  stone  are  plenty. 

If  the  sheep  are  not  kept  separate — if  allowed  to  run  promiscuously  to- 
gether, how  could  the  property  of  each  holder  be  separated  out  of  the  vast 
general  flock  on  a  prairie  five,  ten  or  fifteen  miles  in  mean  diameter,  for  the 
purposes  of  slaughter,  sale,  washing,  shearing,  folding,  or  any  other  inci- 
dent of  their  husbandry]  What  protection  would  there  be  against  whole- 
sale theft,  when  no  man  could  count  his  scattered  flock  1  What  would 
prevent  promiscuous  interbreeding — and  what  object  would  it  be,  there- 
fore, to  attempt  to  procure  choice  breeds,  or  improve  those  already  pos- 
sessed? What  security  would  there  be  against  those  vagabond  rams 
which  the  carelessness  of  some  individual  is  always  sure  to  let  loose  on 
a  neighborhood,  to  beget  lambs  on  every  poorly-fenced  farm,  to  perish  in 
'the  storms  of  February  and  March  It  Finally,  how  could  contagious 
and — unless  promptly  checked — highly  malignant  and  fatal  diseases,  like; 
the  scab  and  hoof-ail,  be  met  with  the  proper  vigor,  and  treated  with  the 
necessary  skill  and  care,  among  a  multitude  of  holders  scattered  over  miles 
•of  surface;  and  supposing  all  the  necessary  vigor,  skill  and  care  brought 
into  action,  what  would  they  all  avail  where  it  was  impossible  to  sepa 
rate  the  healthy  from  the  diseased — the  cured  from  the  sick  ]  J  Let  either 
of  these  diseases  break  out  among  a  flock  of  ten  thousand  sheep,  running 
together  without  inclosures,  and  any  one  familiar  with  their  diagnosis  and 
treatment,  knows  that  if  it  were  possible  to  drive  theni  from  the  flock — 
which  is  extremely  doubtful — it  would  cost  far  more  than  the  value  of  the 

*  Costing  four  or  perhaps  six  times  more  in  this  than  in  the  former  countries. 

t  It  is  questionable  whether  in  a  flock  running  in  common  on  a  prairie,  one  ewe  in  ten  would  escape 
untimely  impregnation. 

t  Both  of  these  diseases  are  susceptible  of  being  communicated  from  a  dfeeared  sheep  to  one  hut 
frrently  cured  of  them ;  consequently,  separation  is  the  Mily  safe  and  economical  method,  in  large  fiocka 

prevent  constant  relnoculation. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  101 

sheep.  True,  these  diseases  have  not  yet  visited,  so  far  I  am  awfcre,  tha 
Western  States.  The  scab  is,  in  fact,  but  little  known  at  present  in  any 
part  of  the  United  States.  It  may  at  any  time,  however,  reappear.*  The 
hoof-ail,  after  the  fury  of  its  first  onset  is  over,  assumes  a  milder  form—- 
one which  does  not  lead  to  death,  if  remedies  are  applied  but  once  or 
twice  during  a  season — and  for  this  reason,  probably,  it  is  allowed  to 
linger  in  many  flocks  in  the  sheep-growing  regions  of  the  U.  S.  It  is  a 
strictly  contagious  disease,  and  one  animal  having  it  would  rapidly  innoc- 
late,  in  the  hot  weather  of  summer,  by  itself  and  others  receiving  the  dis- 
ease from  it,  one  or  five  hundred  thousand  sheep  having  access  to  each 
other.  A  few  years  since  it  was  a  stranger  to  this  region.  Like  the  small- 
pox when  unchecked  by  vaccination,  or  any  other  contagious  malady,  it 
gradually  progresses  from  neighborhood  to  neighborhood — from  State  to 
State.  Good  fences,  confinement  to  the  farm,  and  a  rigorous  system  of 
exclusion  of  all  strange  sheep,  may  and  do  save  many  flocks  from  its  vis- 
itation, but  accidents  and  acts  of  carelessness  are  constantly  occurring— 
and  so  long  as  they  continue  to  occur,  this  malady  will  continue  its  on 
ward  march.  I  consider  it  just  as  certain  that  it  will  visit  and  sweep  over 
the  North-western  States,  as  I  do  that  flocks  are  scattered  along  between 
those  States  and  the  present  seat  of  the  disease.  And  when  it  does  visit 
them,  if  it  finds  any  great  flocks  congregated  on  the  prairies,  not  in  a  situ- 
ation to  be  immediately  divided  into  small  flocks,  I  venture  to  predict  that, 
with  all  the  care  and  attention  which  the  sheep  will  receive,  the  miserable 
animals,  eaten  while  yet  alive  by  maggots — and, festering  in  loathsome 
rottenness,  will  perish  in  multitudes — by  whole  flocks.t 

Another  objection  to  pasturing  in  common,  would  arise  in  the  difficulty, 
if  not  impracticability,  of  establishing  and  enforcing  an  equitable  system 
of  joint  occupancy,  over  or  around  a  large  prairie,  so  as  to  compel  each 
farmer  to  regulate  the  number  of  his  flocks  and  herds  by  the  amount  of  cul* 
tivated  pasture  possessed  by  him. 

But  if  we  concede  all  the  preceding  difficulties  to  be  removable,  or  even 
removed  ;  if  we  suppose  the  great  north-western  plains  to  be  amply  sup- 
plied with  materials  for  building,  fences,  and  fuel — there  are  two  other  dif- 
ficulties in  the  way  of  their  becoming  the  best  class  of  sheep-walks,  which, 
from  their  nature  are  fixed,  and,  in  the  main,  unchangeable.  I  allude  to 
the  scarcity  of  water,  and  the  climate. 

On  the  "  dry  and  rolling  prairies  " — those  claimed  to  possess  the  greatest, 
advantages  for  Sheep  Husbandry — running  water  is  scarce,  frequently  ex- 
tremely so.  The  occasional  streams  are  shallow  and  sluggish.  Washing 
wool  on  the  back  of  the  sheep,  conduces,  I  think,  to  the  health  of  the  ani- 
mal. It  causes  the  sheep  to  shear  much  more  easily — brings  the  wool  into 
a  better  marketable  condition,  arid  diminishes  transportation.  Streams  of 
considerable  depth  and  rapidity  (where,  what  is  better,  falling  sheets  of  wa- 
ter over  mill  dams,  £c.,  cannot  be  found),  are  almost  indispensable  to  an 
effectual  performance  of  this  process.  Sheep,  also,  in  many  periods  of 
weather,  require  water  for  drink.  When  they  are  confined  to  dry  feed,  it 
is  indispensable,  in  the  absence  of  that  snow  which  is  often,  in  the  Eastern 
States,  made  a  substitute  for  water.  Neither  are  attainable  during  consid- 
erable periods  each  winter,  on  the  prairies,  without  resort  to  a  pump— a 
sorry — and,  (including  the  time  of  working  it,  when  large  flocks  are  to  bo 
watered),  an  expensive  and  troublesome  substitute  for  running  water. 
__  Finally,  the  climate  of  the  Western  and  North-western  States  is  more 

*  Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  found,  to  my  utter  surprise,  that  this  disease  is  within  three  miles  of 
aiy  own  farm,  in  a  flock  driven  into  the  country  last  fall, 
f  A  history  of  this  disease  and  its  gloomy  diagnosis,  when  neglected,  will  be  given  in  a  subsequent 


102 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


variable — exhibits  more  sudden  and  greater  extremes,  than  the  climates  of 
New- York  and  New-England.  The  weak  and  easily  prostrated  muscular 
and  vascular  system  of  the  sheep,  will  better  endure  great  extremes  of  con- 
tinuous heat  or  cold,  than  rapid  and  marked  variations  in  temperature, 
Subjected  to  t.ie latter,  catarrh  not  violent  enough  to  kill  in  its  inflammato- 
ry stage,  but  assuming  a  chronic  form — a  ad  followed  by  a  slow  and  wast- 
ing debility,  frequently  attacks  flocks.  Sometimes  it  assumes  an  epizoo- 
tic and  malignant  character — as  during  the  past  winter — and  sweeps  away 
thousands  of  sheep. 

The  isothermal  line  (or  line  of  equal  mean  heat),  does  not  vary  particu- 
larly between  the  same  latitudes  in  New- York  or  Wisconsin — or  between 
Virginia  and  Missouri.  But  as  we  leave  the  ocean  and  other  large  bodies 
of  water,  the  isotheral  and  isocheimal  lines  are  found  to  diverge  more 
and  more  from  the  isothermal  one — -and  the  range  of  the  thermometer  (the 
extremes  of  heat  and  cold  indicated  by  it),  rapidly  increases.  The  follow- 
ing Table  of  temperatures,  kept  by  officers  in  the  Army,  for  a  series  of  nine 
years,  is  from  Doct.  Forry's  excellent  work  on  the  "  Climate  of  the  United 
States,  &c."*  It  strikingly  illustrates  the  fact  asserted.  The  four  points 
specified  are  in  about  the  same  latitude. 


Highest. 

Lowest. 

Annual  ttangt 

Fort  Wolcott  Newport,  Rhode  Island  

85 

to 

83 

87 

9 

78 

96 

—  10 

106 

Council  Bluffs,  near  the  confluence  of) 

104 

—-16 

120 

Doct.  Forry  states  that  the  mean  annual  range  of  the  thermometer  at  the 
following  places,  is  as  follows  :  at  Fort  Sullivan  (Eastport,  Me.)  it  is  104°, 
while  at  Forts  Snelling  (confluence  of  the  St.  Peter's  and  Mississippi  in 
Iowa)  and  Howard,  (Green  Bay,  Wisconsin,)  in  about  the  same  latitude,  it 
is  respectively  119°,  and  123°. 

At  Fort  Preble  (Portland,  Me.)  Fort  Niagara  (near  the  mouth  of  th* 
Niagara  River,  N.  Y.),  Fort  Constitution  (Portsmouth,  N.  H.)  it  is  99° 
92°,  and  97°  ;  at  Fort  Crawford,  (confluence  of  the  Wisconsin  arid  Missis* 
sippi  Rivers  in  Wisconsin,)  on  the  same  parallel,  it  is  120°. 

The  above  instances  are  not  isolated  ones.  The  same  law  ^s  found— • 
other  things  being  equal — to  generally  prevail  throughout  our  own,  and 
perhaps  all  other  countries  t 

While  the  cold  of  the  Northern,  and  particularly  the  North-western 
States,  so  greatly  exceeds  that  of  the  Southern  States,  few  would  be  pre- 
pared for  the  proposition  that  the  extremes  of  heat  in  the  former,  often 
reach  points  unknown  many  degrees  farther  South  !  Yet  such  is  the 
fact  ! 

Fort  Snelling,  in  latitude  44°  53',  and  occupying  a  central  position  in  that 
vast  territory  lying  between  the  Great  Lakes  and  the  Missouri,  and  between 
the  41st  and  49th  parallels  of  latitude— and  which  may  therefore  be  pre- 
sumed, to  a  certain  extent,  to  afford  a  type  of  the  climate  of  that  whole  re- 
gion—-feels  a  maximum  summer  heat  of  93° — the  same  with  that  of  Wash 
mgton  City,  in  latitude  33°  53',  and  Old  Point  Comfort,   Va.,   in  latitude 
37°  2'.     At  Fort  Johnston,  on  the  Coast  of  North  Carolina,  in  latitude  34° 
tho  maximum  heat  is  but  90°  ;    at  Fort  Moultrie,  in  Charleston  Harbor 
'n  latitude  32°  42',  it  is  also  9(P  ;  at  Fort  Marion.  St.  Augustine,  Florida, 

*  See  the  above  named  work.  p.  43.  I  am  also  indented  to  Doct.  Forry  for  all  the  records  of  thermometri 
sal  observations,  at  the  U  S.  military  posts,  which  are  subsequently  quoted. 

f  Local  exceptions  exist,  owinij  to  the  prevHilinur  win-Is  and  other  causes.  For  example,  Fort  Howard 
ta  iniKih  nearer  a  large  body  of  watei  than  Fort  Snelling.  Altitude  also  exerts  its  influence. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH 


in  latitude  29°  50',  it  is  92°  ;  at  Fort  Brooke,  Tampa  Bay,  Florida,  in 
latitude  27°  51',  it  is  92°  ;  and  at  Key  West,  the  most  southern  possession  of 
the  United  States,  it  is  89°  ! 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  summer  heat  rises  higher  at  Fort  Snelling 
chan  at  points  on  the  sea-board  more  than  20°  farther  South  ! 

Now  let  us  compare  their  winter  temperature.  The  minimum  tempera* 
ture  of  Fort  Snelling  is  — 26°.*  That  at  Washington  is  -f  9°  ;  Old  Point 
Comfort  4.  20°  ;  Fort  Johnston  +  28°  ;  Fort  Moultrie  +  21°  ;  St.  Augus- 
ine-f-390;  Tampa  Bay  +  35°;  Key  West +  52°!  So  the  greatest  cold 
of  Fort  Snelling  is  35°  below  that  of  Washington — the  most  northern  and 
by  far  the  coldest  of  these  posts — and  it  is  actually  78°  below  that  of  a  post, 
(Key  West),  which  its  summer  heat  exceeds  by  four  degrees ! 

At  Fort  Howard,  latitude  44°  40',  the  seasons  are  even  more  violently 
contrasted.  Its  maximum  heat  is  98°,  its  minimum — 25.  At  Rock  Island, 
111  ,  latitude  41°  28'  we  have  already  seen  that  the  maximum  is  96°,  the 
minimum  — 10°;  and  at  Council  Bluffs,  latitude  41°  45',  the  maximum 
104°,  the  minimum  — 16°  !  At  Petite  Quoquille,  neai  New-Orleans,  the 
maximum  is  but  94°,  the  minimum  -f-  30°  4 

And  an  examination  of  the  monthly  variations  in  temperature,  at  our 
North-western  posts,  will  show  that  these  are  as  excessive,  in  proportion, 
as  those  of  the  year — and  their  suddenness  can  scarcely  be  credited  by 
an  inhabitant  of  southern  regions — more  particularly  those  bordering  oil 
the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  of  Mexico.f 

It  cannot  be  said  that  Fort  Snelling,  or  Rock  Island,  or  Council  Blufis, 
have  the  summers  of  Italy  or  the  South  of  France — for  the  weather  is 
much  hotter  at  intervals,  and  is  subject  to  far  more  frequent,  abrupt  and 
violent  changes  than  in  the  latter:  nor  have  these  posts  winters  as  mild  as 
those  of  Europe,  many  degrees  farther  north  .J  And  their  winter  exhibits 
the  same  sudden  and  violent  changes  which  characterize  the  summer 
climate. 

These  facts,  in  my  judgment,  fully  explain  the  remarkable  mortality  hi 
the  flocks  which  have  been  carried  on  the  prairies,  and  which  is  usually 
attributed  to  over-driving,  poisoning,  &c.  The  climate  itself,  though  not 
always  a  rapid,  will  prove  one  of  the  surest  of  poisons,  unless  great  care — 
imch  greater  than  is  requisite  even  on  the  bleak  and  sterile  hills  of  New- 
.England — is  taken  to  protect  them  from  its  deleterious  influences. 

Facts  sufficient  have  been  adduced,  probably,  to  convince  every  South 
ern  man  how  much  he  has  to  fear,  ultimately,  from  prairie  competition,  in 
the  production  of  wool.  Having  thus  attempted  to  measure  the  capabili- 
ties of  the  various  regions  of  our  own  country  for  the  cheap  production 
of  this  staple,  it  may  be  well  to  turn  our  eyes  to  the  comparative  advan- 
tages of  other  countries  and  nations — and  to  ask  the  question  whether 
Jh^re  is  any  danger  to  the  domestic  producer  from  foreign  competition. 
This  can  be  done  but  briefly  and  rapidly  in  the  limits  which  I  have  assigned 
to  myself. 

It  will  not  be  necessary  for  the  purposes  of  the  present  inquiry,  to  ex- 
amine the  climate,  flora,  &c.,  of  all  portions  of  the  world.  The  wool- 
producing  countries — those  which  have  natural  advantages  to  enable  them 
to  produce  wool  cheaply  enough,  and  in  sufficient  quantities,  to  stand  any 
chance  in  the  general  competition,  are  mainly  embraced  in  a  belt  or  region 

[*  It  will  be  understood  that  the  sign  —  before  the  number  of  decree?,  indicates  that  it  is  that  number  of 
degrees  belov  Zero,  and  the  sign  -j-  used  here,  in  the  preceding  Table,  and  in  the  subsequent  paragraph,  tc 
avoid  confusion,  signifies  above  Zero.  Publisher.} 

t  In  the  Report  of  the  Fishing:  Creek  Agricultural  Society,  of  your  State,  1843,  the  Committee  actuallj 
complain  of  the  variableness  of  the  c'imate  !  Truly,  'we  can  only  judge  by  comparison  !' 

1  The  mean  winter  temperature  of  North  Cape  in  Norway,  latitude  71°,  ia  23°  72— that  of  Fort  SneUin« 
15*  95-  thai  of  Council  Bluffs,  24°  47— that  of  Rock  Island,  26O  86. 


104  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOl-TH 

about  15C  in  width,  on  each  side  of  and  at  varying  distances  from  the 
Equator.  The  variation  corresponds  with  the  variation  of  temperature; 
in  other  words,  the  wool  zone  is  bounded  by  isothermal  instead  of  lat- 
itudinal lines.  Commencing  on  the  eastern  side  of  each  continent,  in  the 
northern  hemisphere,  between  about  30°  and  45°,  it  bears  northwardly, 
and  strikes  their  eastern  shores,  say  between  40°  and  55°.  In  the  south, 
cm  hemisphere,  I  am  not  aware  that  the  isothermal  deviations,  in  the 
corresponding  parallels,  have  been  noted — nor  are  they  important,  so 
small,  comparatively,  is  the  latitudinal  area  of  the  surfaces  included  be- 
tween them. 

Independent  of  minor  deviations  everywhere  exhibiting  themselves  in  the 
iso'.hermal  lines,  more  important  local  exceptions  exist  in  many  places,  owing 
if.  elevation,  proximity  of  bodies  of  water,  prevailing  winds,  &c.  Thus,  south 
of  latitude  30°  in  North  America,  the  elevations  of  the  Cordilleras  give  the 
mild  weather  of  the  temperate,  and  even  the  rigors  of  the  frozen  zone; 
and  the  same  is  true  of  the  Andes  of  South  America — in  Bolivia,  Peru, 
Ecuador  and  New-Grenada — in  the  same  latitudes,  where,  at  the  eastern 
foot  of  these  declivities,  the  tropical  sun  burns  up,  as  with  fire,  the  verdure 
of  the  vast  llanos  of  Brazil  and  Venezuela,  and  exhales  death  from  the 
pestilent  fens  of  Guiana,  and  the  reptile-teeming  marshes  of  the  Amazon. 
The  same  exceptions  exist  on  the  Eastern  Continent,  wherever  mountain 
chains  rise  to  sufficient  elvations  to  bring  to  bear  this  well  known  and  uni- 
form law  for  the  depression  of  temperature,  albeit  in  tropical  or  sub- 
tropical regions^  The  steady  and  mild  climate  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and 
its  continual  and  peculiar  motion  on  the  west  of  Europe,  preventing  the 
ice,  which  the  north  wind  wafts  down  from  the  Arctic  seas,  from  lodging 
itself,  or  even  approaching*  those  shores,  strongly  influences  the  climates 
of  the  British  Islands  and  Norway,  rendering  them  more  temperate  than 
others  many  degrees  farther  south  in  the  interior  of  Europe  and  Asia. 
Eastern  Prussia,  and  Polish  Russia,  are  rendered  disproportionably  cold 
by  the  prevailing  wind,  which  sweeps  without  resistance  from  the  bosom 
of  the  Arctic  Ocean  to  the  Carpathian  Mountains  :  and  the  north-east  wind, 
laden  with  the  frosts  of  Siberia,  and  untempered  by  the  southern  winds, 
from  which  it  is  cut  off  by  the  lofty  Altay  Mountains,  carries  a  cold  under 
which  men,  nay  whole  caravans,!  perish  in  Persia,  in  the  same  latitude 
with  Northern  Africa,  and  the  confines  of  the  burning  Sahara.^  The  Cas- 
pian and  Black  Seas — Mounts  Caucasus  and  Taurus  prevent  Asiatic  Turkey, 
and  Mount  Heemus,  European  Turkey — from  experiencing  similar  cold. 
The  same  wind  entering  Europe,  reduces  the  temperature  of  ita  eastern 
considerably  below  that  of  its  western  confines  ;  and  its  effects  are  felt  more 
or  less  westwardly,  in  proportion  as  its  course  is  arrested  by  mountains. 
The  climate  of  Silesia  and  Saxony  is  far  colder  and  more  mutable  than 
than  that  of  Bohemia,  from  which  they  are  only  separated  by  the  Erzge- 
birge  and  Riesengebirge.  In  Northern  European  Russia,  in  Finland  and 
the  basin  of  the  Dwina — in  the  same  latitudes  where  Norway  exhibits  the 

«•  Malte  Bran's  Geography— Art.  Climnta  of  Europe.  t  Sir  Robert  Kerr  Porter. 

J  From  the  delightful  Arabian  Nights— from  the  not  less  delightful  strains  of  Lalla  Rookh— from  *  thou. 
feand  other  sources,  remembered  and  unremembered — song,  fiction  and  Oriental  tale — Persia  always  rise* 
!?  itore  fancy's  eye  a  realm  and  clime  of  beauty  : 

" deep  myrrh-thickets  blowing  round 

The  Ptately  cednr,  tamarisks, 
Thick  roseries  of  scented  thorn, 
Tall  orient  shrubs,  and  obelisks 

Graven  with  emblems  of  the  time, 
In  honor  of  the  golden  prime, 

Of  good  Haroun  Alraachid." 

There  are  portions  of  Persia  where  the  soil  is  rich  and  the  climate  delightful — but,  as  a  whole,  it  is  a  btenk. 
W-:Jle,  unfruitful  country— large  portions  of  it  covered  with  nigged  mountains  or  saline  deserts— -with  « 
caiuate  remarkable  for  the  rapidity  and  extent  of  ita  variations. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOU1H.  l()c 


flora  of  Northern  Germany — spirits  freeze  and  quicksilver  becomes  malle- 
able.    But  it  is  unnecessary  to  continue  this  enumeration. 

Let  us  now  take  a  rapid  view  of  the  wool-growing  countries  embraced 
in  the  specified  zones.  And  we  will  first  complete  the  description  of  oui 
own  continent. 

Mexico — that  portion  of  it  north  of  latitude  30° — bears  too  close  a  re- 
semblance to  our  Western  Territories  conterminous  with  it,  to  require 
separate  notice. 

But  a  small  proportion  of  the  great  peninsula  of  South  America  is  in- 
eluded  between  the  30th  and  45th  parallels  of  latitude,  and  admitting, 
what  seems  probable,  that  the  contiguity  of  two  great  oceans  would  so  af- 
fect the  climate  as  to  carry  the  northern  line  of  the  wool  zone  a  little 
nearer  to  the  Equator,  this  zone  would  still  embrace  but,  say,  two-thirds 
of  Buenos  Ayres,  nearly  all  of  Chili,  the  little  State  of  Uraguay,  a  mere 
point  of  Brazil,  and  the  north  of  Patagonia. 

The  growing- of  wool  has  already  been  commenced  on  the  vast  pampas* 
of  Buenos  Ayres — though  as  yet  to  a  but  limited  extent.  In  1832,  the  ex- 
port of  wool  to  Great  Britain  was  32,052  arrobas  ;f  but  the  same  yea? 
the  import  of  English  woolens  considerably  exceeded  it  in  value.  The 
United  States  Tariff  on  foreign  wools  costing  7  cents  per  pound  or  under 
being  then  but  5  per  cent,  ad  valorem,  the  importation  of  wool  of  that 
quality  from  the  Argentine  Republic^  into  our  country  in  the  fiscal  yeat 
ending  June  30,  1846,  was  4,295,659  Ibs.,  and  of  wool  costing  more  than 
7  cents  (paying  a  duty  of  30  per  cent,  ad  valorem,  and  a  specific  duty  of 
3  cents  per  pound)  the  import  was  43,831  lbs.|| 

The  pampas  resemble  the  North  American  prairies,  being  plains  cov- 
ered with  wild  grasses,  and  entirely  destitute  of  timber.  The  land  is  di- 
vided by  the  Government  into  estates  a  league  square  (5,760  acres,)  and. 
sold  at  10  cents  per  acre.  Until  recently  the  pampas  were  depastured  al- 
most exclusively  by  horses  and  cattle,  and  so  plenty  and  cheap  were 
they,  that  they  were  frequently  killed  for  their  hides  alone.  The  herds- 
men and  shepherds  live  in  miserable  huts,  and  temporary  folds  are  formed 
of  the  trunks  of  peach-trees.  Western  or  south-western  winds  called. pam- 
peros often  sweep  the  country  with  destructive  fury,  and  there  are  ir 
stances  in  which  flocks  of  sheep  have  been  forced  by  them  into  streams 
and  have  perished. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  pampas  are,  on  the  north,  the  Gauchos — descend 
ants  of  Spaniards — who,  living  in  the  saddle,  and  content  to  subsist,  on 
jerked  beef  and  cold  water — having  few  wants,  and  none  which  the  lass(> 
will  not  supply — lead  a  life  of  wild  and  roving  liberty.  Tribes  of  mount- 
ed Indians,  wild,  predatory,  and  constantly  at  war  with  the  Gauchos,  oc- 
cupy the  southern  pampas. 

The  facilities  for  producing  wool  here  closely  resemble  those  of  the 
North  American  prairies,  though  wood  is  wanting  over  much  more  exten- 
sive tracts.  The  price  of  land  on  the  pampas  is  less,  but  they  are  moiv 
remote  from  markets,  as  there  is  little  or  no  manufacturing  done  in  South 
America.  Besides  the  cost  of  transportation,  wool  must  pay,  before  reach- 
ing market,  the  duties  levied  by  some  foreign  nation.  The-  duty  in  the 
United  States,  by  the  Tariff  of  1846,  is  30  per  centum  ad  valorem,  with- 
out regard  to  quality,  thus  discontinuing  that  great  discrimination  in  iavoi 
of  the  coarse  article,  which  allowed  a  large  proportion  of  the  wools  of 

*  This  wold,  like  llanoi  in  the  Northern  States  of  South  America,  and  prairies  in  die  No.ili  Westerr 
fTnited  States,  is  applied  to  extensive  plains.    Those  in  the  North  of  Chili  are  caJled  pampus  del  sacrament* 
t  McCulloch's  Commercial  Dictionary.     An  arroba-is  101^  Ibs.  avoirdupois. 
%  Buenos  Ayres  is  so  known  in  all  the  official  documents  of  the  United  States. 
y  Rejxjrt  of  the  Register  of  the  Treasury,  Dec..  1846. 


106  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

Buenos  Ayres,  Africa,  Turkey,  &c.,  to  enter  our  ports  under  a  merely 
nominal  duty.  The  present  Tariff  raised  the  duty  on  these  wools  to  six 
times  the  former  rate,  i.  e.,  on  wools  costing  7  cents,  from  3-J  mills  to  2  cents 
and  1  mill  per  pound.  This  will  make  an  important  difference  to  the  for- 
eign grower  and  exporter.  If  these  wools  continue,  as  hitherto,  to  be  im 
ported  in  the  grease  and  dirt,  from  which  state  they  lose  about  half  weight 
in  being  brought  as  clean  as  well  washed  United  States  wool,  every  pound 
of  them  so  imported  will  actually  pay  a  double  duty,  or  4  cents  and  2  mills, 
half  of  this  being  paid  for  dirt.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  they  are  washed 
prior  to  exportation,  a  reduction  of  50  per  cent,  in  their  weight  will  call 
for  a  corresponding  advance  in  their  price.  Wool  now  costing  7  cents  at 
Buenos  Ayres  or  Smyrna,  will  cost  14  cents ;  and  if  this  is  exported  into 
the  United  States,  it  must  pay  a  duty  of  30  per  cent.,  or  4  cents  and  2 
mills  per  pound.  It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  the  lowest  priced  foreign 
wools  cannot  enter  our  country  without  paying  about  this  duty  (4  cents) 
per  pound,  unless  under  fraudulent  invoices  ;  and  this,  as  has  been  already 
shown,  is  kaJftlie  cost  of  producing  wool  throughout  a  region  of  the  United 
States  much  greater  in  extent  than  all  that  portion  of  South  America  in- 
cluded within  the  wool-growing  zone. 

The  English  duty  on  wools  costing  less  than  24  cents  is  1  cent  per 
pound ;  over  24  cents,  2  cents  per  pound.  The  French  duty  is  22  per 
cent,  ad  valorem,  without  regard  to  cost. 

The  security  of  life  and  property  is  far  less  in  Buenos  Ayres  than  in  the 
United  States ;  the  character  of  the  agricultural  population  less  industri- 
ous, less  skillful,  and  less  methodical.  Capitalists  from  other  countries 
may,  on  account  of  the  cheapness  of  the  lands,  make  it  profitable  to  pur- 
chase large  estancias,  and  raise  vast  flocks  of  sheep  ;  and  this  has  already 
been  done  by  a  few  Europeans.  But  the  pampas  are  subject  to  the  same 
general  objections*  with  the  North  American  prairies,  and  when  the  con- 
tagious diseases,  adverted  to  in  speaking  of  the  latter,  once  obtain  a  foot- 
ing on  them,  it  is  not  difficult  to  predict  how  those  diseases  will  be  en- 
countered by  the  wild  and,  so  far  as  agricultural  labor  is  concerned,  indo- 
lent Gaucho.  The  difficulty  of  encountering  them,  with  the  best  skill  and 
industry,  under  such  circumstances — of  preventing  their  unlimited  spread, 
constant  return  and  frightful  mortality,  on  plains  without  inclosures,  where 
flocks  have  access  to  each  other,  or  straggling  sheep  from  one  flock  are 
liable,  by  every-day  casualties,  to  be  thrown  among  those  of  another  flock 
—has  been  stated. 

It  is  not  improbable  that  while  land  remains  so  low,  and  the  sheep 
healthy,  the  actual  cost  of  production  in  Buenos  Ayres  will  be  somewhat 
less  than  in  the  United  States  ;  but  taking  all  things  into  consideration,  and 
looking  to  the  future,  I  would  sooner  advise  any  one,  even  in  an  exclu- 
sively economical  point  of  view,  to  purchase  the  cheap  lands  of  our  own 
Southern  States  for  the  objects  of  Sheep  Husbandry,  than  any  part  of 
South  America.  With  the  present  duty  and  the  cost  of  transportation 
against  the  latter,  there  is  no  fear  that  it  can  undersell,  in  our  markets, 
the  produce  of  the  former.  The  7-cent  South  American  wools,  washed, 
will  cost  14  cents,  and  washing  will  add  about  1  cent  a  pound  to  thecost.t 
Add  another  cent  for  agent's  commission,  and  also  the  U.  S.  duty,  and  the 
wool  is  brought  to  20  cents  a  pound,  independent  of  freight  and  insurance, 
which  wi  1  carry  it,  I  should  think,  to  about  two  shillings.  The  United 
States  producer  can  furnish  wool  of  much  better  quality  than  the  coarse 
South  American  article,  at  this  price,  and  realize  a  high  profit. 

*  Unless  it  be  climatic  ones.     On  this  point  I  have  no  information, 

»  This  will  be  attended  with  much  trouble  on  largo  porti  jas  of  *.h  J  pampas,  AS  on  our  prairies. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  107 

But  is  it  said  that  the  7-cent  South  American  wool  sold  in  our  markets 
in  1845  and  1846,  was  not  all  coarse — that  much  of  it  was  actually  of  a 
superior  quality  1  This  is  true.  Many  of  the  bales  were  partly  made  up 
of  an  article  ranging  with  American  Merino  and  Saxony  wools.  But  there 
is  little  doubt  that,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  in  very  many  such  cases,  if  the  in- 
voice of  the  wool  was  not  fraudulent,  nominally,  it  was  rendered  so,  in 
reality,  by  a  previous  fraud.  The  modus  operandi  is  said  to  have  been  as 
follows  :  A  sends  his  agent  B  to  Buenos  Ayres  with  instructions  to  pur- 
chase the  best  lots  of  wool  and  pay  their  market  price ;  and  he  farther 
gives  him  secret  instructions  to  re-sell  these  wools  to  C  (a  second  agent) 
for  7  cents  per  pound,  ostensibly  in  the  ordinary  course  of  business.  The 
second  agent  C  is  subsequently  senfrout  to  buy,  with  no  information  of  the 
mission  of  his  predecessor ;  if  he  suspect  the  fraud,  he  has  no  direct  knowl- 
edge, of  it,  and  having  purchased  wool  for  7  cents  which  cost  B  15  cents,  he 
can  invoice  it  at  the  former  rate  and  support  the  invoice  by  his  oath. 

I  have  no  direct  proof  of  an  instance  of  this  species  of  fraud.  The 
commonness  of  such  transactions,  however,  was  claimed  to  be  a  matter 
of  perfect  notoriety,  by  individuals  who  had  investigated  the  subject. 
Allegations  of  this  kind  have  appeared  again  and  again  in  the  most 
public  manner,  and  I  have  yet  to  listen  to  the  first  denial  of  them,  public 
or  private.  Fraudulent  invoices  are  no  new  thing  in  our  commercial  his- 
tory,* and  the  great  discrimination  made  by  the  Tariff  of  1842,  in  the  du- 
ties on  wool,  offered  the  strongest  temptations  to  them.  The  same  kind 
of  fraud  may  be  still  practiced,  but  the  inducement  to  risk  seizure  for  un- 
dervaluation is  less  where  the  diminution  of  duty  is  merely  pro  rata  with 
the  diminution  of  cost,  and  where  getting  the  latter  invoiced  at  as  low  a 
rate  as  7  cents,  is  not  followed,  as  before,  by  escape  from  a  specific  duty 
and  a  sudden  descent  of  Jive-sixths  in  the  ad  valorem  one. 

I  am  free  to  confess,  however,  that  it  has  always  seemed  to  me  that  e 
determination  to  vigorously  and  faithfully  discharge  their  duty  in  tho 
premises,  with  a  competent  practical  knowledge  of  the  quality  of  the  arti- 
cle, in  the  proper  Custom-House  officials,  would  always,  in  an  unmanu- 
factured staple,  and  one  so  readily  classified  and  valued  as  wool,  be  a  suf- 
ficient safeguard  against  fraudulent  undervaluation,  to  any  extent,  in  the 
invoice.  They  might  perhaps  be  undervalued  one  or  two  cents  on  the 
pound,  without  making  a  case  strong  and  obvious  enough  to  justify  ap- 
praisers in  legalizing  a  seizui-e ;  but  it  is  not  for  gains  like  these  that  per- 
juries would  be  ventured  upon,  or  double  agents  and  other  expensive  ar- 
rangements for  the  perpetration  of  more  roundabout  frauds,  be  found 
profitable. 

Not  having  room,  within  the  limits  of  this  letter,  to  discuss  the  capa- 
bilities of  the  Old  World  to  compete  with  us  in  wool  growing,  I  will 
reserve  that  subject  for  my  next. 

If  any  one  dreams  they  are,  let  him  read  a  speech  on  the  Tariff  made  by  Mr.  Buchanan  in  the  U.  9 
in  lB<2—another  by  Mr.  Webster  on  ad  valorem  duties,  made  in  the  same  body  July  £5,  1846,  &c. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


LETTER  IX. 

PROSPECTS  OF  THE  WOOL  MARKET—FUTURE  DEMAND  AND  SUPPLY. 

iports  and  Exports  of  Trans-Atlantic  Nations... Means  of  ascertaining  their  Comparative  Produo- 
bio  of  the  Imports  of  England...  Amount  of  Wool  grown  in  the  United  Kingdom,  Consumption, 


The  Im 
fion...Ta 


of  Asia  Minor — Same  of  Persia — Same  of  Independent  Tartary — Same  of  Afghanistan  and  Beloochistan— 
Same  of  Thibet,  Little  Bucharia,  and  the  remainder  of  China— fame  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope— Same  of 
Australia  and  Van  Diemen's  Land... Conclusions  in  regard  to  Comparative  Facilities,  etc.,  of  above  Na- 
tions and  the  United  States...  The  Northern  States  can  compete  with  the  most  favored  of  them— and  of 
course  the  South  can,  to  much  greater  advantage... The  South  might  safely  embark  in  Wool-Growing,  re- 
lying  on  the  European  Market  alone. ..Rapid  Extension  of  that  Market  Past  and  Future. ..But  the  Ameri- 
can Wool-Grower  is  not  compelled  to  seek  a  Foreign  Market. .  .Our  Production  does  not  meet  the  Demand 
of  our  own  Manufactories. .  .Table  of  the  Imports  of  Wool  into  the  United  States... Table  showing 
whence  we  Import  Wool... Letter  from  Samuel  Lawrence,  Esq.,  showing  the  increasing  call  for  Man 
ufactories — The  Stability  of  existing  ones — andJtheir  ability  to  compete  with  those  of  Foreign  Countries..' 
Extent  of  our  Consumption  of  Woolens  above  the  Supply  made  by  our  Manufactories... Table  of  Imports 
of  Woolens...  Probable  Increase  of  our  Manufactories ...  Reflections  on  the  Tariff...  Rapidly  Increasing 
Consumption  of  our  Population — Amount  Consumed  per  head. . -Table  of  Increase  of  our  Population... 
Future  Increase. .  .The  Amount  of  Wool  Necessary  at  various  Future  Periods. 

Dear  Sir :  Probably  there  are  few  men  who  now  dream  of  any  danger 
to  the  wool-grower  of  the  United  States,  in  the  home  market,  from  trans-At- 
lantic competition.  But  there  is  another  point  of  view,  in  which  a  glance 
at  the  facilities  of  the  eastern  nations,  for  the  production  of  this  staple,  may 
not  be  uninteresting.  May  we  not  undersell  them  with  the  raw  material,  in 
their  own  markets  !  He  who  carefully  and  intelligently  examines  all  the 
fects  involved  in  the  solution  of  this  question,  will  find,  in  spite  of  the  vague 
popular  impressions  which  prevail  on  the  subject,  that  so  far  at  least  as 
those  nations  are  concerned,  which  now  produce  the  greatest  amount  of 
the*wool  which  supplies  the  markets  of  the  Old  World,  the  United  States 
can,  if  satisfied  with  equal  profits,  easily  undersell  them. 

As  an  importer  of  the  raw  and  exporter  of  the  manufactured  article, 
England  occupies  the  first  place.  In  these  particulars,  she  probably  ex- 
ceeds, by  fully  one-half,  all  the  other  nations  of  the  Old  World.  France 
ranks  next,  and  largely  takes  precedence  of  the  remaining  nations.  Hol- 
land, though  shorn,  by  disastrous  political  revolutions,  of  much  of  her  an- 
cient importance  in  this  class  of  manufactures,  still  maintains  a  trade  of 
some  magnitude.  Several  of  the  German  and  Prussian  States  export  par- 
ticular descriptions  of  woolens ;  Italy  sends  out  some  light  cloths  ;  arid 
Turkey  the  carpets  of  that  name.  A  full  exhibit  of  the  exports  of  all  tho 
wool-producing  nations,  would  not,  of  course,  lead  us  to  an  accurate  knowl- 
edge of  the  amount  of  their  production — for  there  is  no  one  which  does 
not  manufacture  the  raw  material  to  some  extent.  But  with  what  knowl- 
edge we  can  obtain  of  their  manufactures,  the  former  information  would 
enable  us  to  ascertain,  approximately  at  least,  the  amount  of  their  produc- 
tion. This  is  all  that  is  necessary  for  our  present  purpose,  for  we  do  not 
now,  in  reality,  so  much  seek  their  actual  as  their  comparative  production. 

England,  as  I  have  before  remarked,  is  the  great  importer  and  exporter. 
Her  duties  on  imported  wool  are,  as  has  been  seen,*  exceedingly  low,  and 
she  makes  no  discrimination  in  this  particular,  in  relation  to  bottoms,  or 
the  places  of  export.t  The  vastness  and  variety  of  her  demand  giTe  a 

*  See  Letter  VIII. 

\  With  the  exception,  of  course,  of  her  own  Colonies,  from  which  it  is  exported  free. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  »N  THE  SOUTH.  109 

greater  certainty  to  the  exporter  of  prompt  and  favorable  sales,  in  hei 
markets,  than  in  those  of  any  other  nation.  France  possesses  the  advan- 
tage of  maritime  contiguity,  for  securing  the  raw  product  of  the  nations 
bordering  on  the  Mediterranean;  and  therefore,  in  some  instancds,  as  in 
the  case  of  Turkey,  she  receives  more  of  that  product,  in  proportion  to  her 
manufacturing  consumption,  than  England.  But  in  one  respect  the  latter 
has  the  advantage  in  securing  the  trade  of  the  Levant.  Between  the  na- 
tural products,  and,  of  consequence,  the  exports  of  France  and  those  of 
the  other  nations  bordering  on  the  Mediterranean,  there  exists  a  great  simi- 
larity. She  cannot  send  her  wines  to  Hungary,  nor  these  nor  her  silks  to 
Italy,  in  exchange  for  wool.  Her  fruits,  and  indeed  all  of  her  natural  pro- 
ducts are  the  same  with  those  of  the  whole  south  of  Europe.  England, 
the  producer,  and  the  great  mart  of  the  products  of  Northern  Europe,  can 
offer  these  in  the  Mediterranean  on  better  terms  than  France  ;  and  in  the 
manufacture  of  cotton  goods,  the  main  article  of  dress,  and  consequently 
one  of  the  great  ones  of  import  throughout  the  whole  Levant,  the  former 
possesses  a  decided  superiority.  All  these  natural  and  artificial  circumstances 
have  their  weight,  sometimes  in  favor  of  one,  and  sometimes  the  other  of 
these  nations,  in  determining  the  course  of  trade — and  habit,  ancient  com- 
mercial associations,  and  even  national  predilections  also  throw  their  weight 
into  the  scale.  In  looking  at  the  subject  as  a  whole,  however,  all  these 
facts,  unless  in  a  very  few  instances,  so  far  offset  each  other,  that  in  obtain- 
ing a  view  of  the  wool  trade  of  England — her  imports — we  obtain  a  suffi- 
ciently accui ate  picture  or  index  of  the  proportionable  exports  of  all  the 
nations  of  the  Old  World. 

Before  proceeding  to  ascertain  the  actual  facilities  of  the  several  coun- 
tries named  in  the  Table,  for  the  purposes  of  wool'growing,  it  may  be  well 
to  briefly  glance  at  that  of  England  herself. 

Mr.  Luccock*  estimated  the  produce  of  wool  in  England  and  Wales,  in 
1800,  to  be  393,236  packs,t  or  94,376,640  Ibs. ;  and  in  1828,  Mr.  Hwbbard  J 
placed  it  at  463,169  packs,  or  111,160,560  Ibs.  According  to  a  Table 
formed  by  order  of  a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Lords,  the  same  year, 
the  quantity  produced  on  an  average  of  years,  in  England,  is  111,160,560 
Ibs.  According  to  Mr.  Luccock's  estimate,  (in  1800,)  the  number  of  sheep 
in  England  and  Wales  was  26,148,463.  It  is  not  thought  to  have  varied 
much  since.  The  Encyclopaedia  Americana,) |  (published  1835,)  on  the 
authority  of  the  Edinburgh  Encyclopaedia,  sets  down  the  then  present 
number  of  sheep  in  the  United  Kingdom  as  follows :  in  Scotland  3,500,000  ; 
in  Ireland  probably  under  2,000,000 ;  in  England  and  Wales  the  same 
number  as  in  the  time  of  Mr.  Luccock ; — so  that  the  aggregate  number 
would  be  about  32,000,000.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  England  and  Wales, 
with  an  area  much  less  than  that  of  Virginia,§  have  almost  7,000,000 
more  sheep  than  the  whole  number  in  the  United  States  in  1839  ! 

Large  as  is  the  amount  of  wool  produced  in  the  United  Kingdom,  it 
does' not  meet,  in  the  number  of  pounds,  the  amount  required  for  woolens 
consumed  in  the  United  Kingdom  alone.fi  It  is  true  that  England  has 
exported  some  combing  wool,  of  her  own  growth,  to  meet  the  wants  of  a 
certain  class  of  manufactories  (of  worsted)  in  France,  which  could  not  ob- 
tain stock  of  equal  quality  in  any  other  quarter ;  arid  she  has  also  exported 
considerable  quantities  of  her  own  coarse  short  wools.  Of  the  latter,  I 
am  ashamed  to  say,  the  United  States  have  been  considerable  purchasers. 
The  whole  export  of  England,  in  1824,  amounted  to  but  little  over  18,000 

*  See  Luccock  on  Wool,  p.  341  and  Table.  t  A  pack  of  wool  is  540  Ihs. 

J  Quoted  by  Mr.  Bischott— See  vol.  ii.,  Appendix.  j|  Encyclopaedia  Americana— art  Sheep  Raising 

&  The  area  of  Virginia  is  70.000  square  milea,  that  of  England  and  Wiis  60,000. 

$  See  B'.schoff,  vol.  ii.,  p.  171. 


110 


SHEEP  HUSBAINDRYIN  THE  SOUTH. 


Ibs.  From  that  time  it  has  gradually  increased,  and  in  1838  it  reached 
5,851,340  Ibs. ;  in  1839;  4,603,799  Ibs. ;  in  1840,  4,810,387  Ibs.*  Under  the 
last  year  of  the  late  Tariff,  we  received  from  England,  of  wools  not  costing 
to  exceed  7  cents  per  pound,  1,188,800  Ibs.,  and  of  those  exceeding  7 
cents,  28,406  Ibs.;  and  from  Scotland,  of  the  cheaper  class*,  21,132  Ibs.t 
This,  however,  only  shows  a  surplus  in  kind,  not  in  quantity.  The  Eng- 
lish short  wools  have,  as  has  been  abundantly  shown  by  the  testimony 
of  her  most  eminent  manufacturers,  \  a  harshness  and  want  of  felting  prop- 
erties which  render  them  unfit,  unmixed  with  a  better  stamp  of  foreign 
wools,  for  any  but  the  very  lowest  description  of  cloths  and  stuffs,  such  as 
blankets,  baizes,  army  cloths,  flushings  or  bearskins,  &c.  Nor  will  they 
make  prime  articles,  even  of  these  low  descriptions.  England,  therefore, 
after  consuming  such  portions  of  these  wools  as  she  can,  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  the  above-named  and  similar  articles,  and  by  mixing  them,  in  the 
nature  of  an  alloy,  with  better  foreign  wools  in  a  low  class  of  fabrics,  such 
as  flannels,  livery  and  sergeant's  cloth,  etc.,  exports  the  balance  to  su-ch 
nations  as  ^YQ  foolish  enough  to  purchase  it.|| 

The  following  Table,  compiled  from  official  sources,  from  Bischoff's 
"  Comprehensive  History  of  the  Woolen  and  Worsted  Manufactures, 
&c.,"§  gives  the  imports  of  England  every  fifth  year  from  1810  to  1840, 

TABLE  No.  8. 


|  Countries  fin,.v}hir.k  Imp'  ted 

1810. 

1815. 

1820. 

1825. 

1830. 

1835. 

1840.      I 

3°  149 

°97fill 

75  614 

1  99°  101 

"0°  871 

'  4  i  )24  740 

11  930 

40  984 

302 

351  741 

404  go- 

13507 

554  °13 

379717 

366  444 

605  521 

1  5  424 

32  889 

3  497 

380 

]  431 

5  961 

123  057 

105073 

107  101 

131  100 

713  246 

256  147 

Oij'g4p 

778,835 

3  137  438 

5  113  442 

28799661 

26  073  88° 

23  79J  1C6 

21  81°  099 

Holland 

C  301  <«55 

}        -?,673 

432,832 

186,051 

1,059,243 

939,123 

;  23L222 

134  095 

756,427 

230,909 

436  678 

45093 

104  535 

48830 

3018961 

T  146  607 

95  187 

953  793 

461  942 

683  °31 

374  91  r 

5,952,407 

j,929  579 

3,536,229 

8  206  427 

1  643  515 

1  602  752 

1  266  905 

349  053 

12891 

3,e51 

19250 

476  7'37 

24°  734 

Italy   

21,554 

97.679 

2.815 

227  453 

9461 

1  051  005 

1  668  541 

Malta                           '     ... 

40040 

55  804 

5050 

72  131 

39913 

2  209 

25,983 

121  110 

81  6  6°5 

4^*03 

Turkey  

12,513 

189,584 

513  414 

1  281  839 

655  964 

Syria 

34  049 

Cape  of  Good  Hope  

29,717 

23,363 

13,869 

27,619 

33,407 

191,624 
5102 

751,741 
337  908 

Ht  Helena.                

4  683 

Cast  Indies 

701 

8,056 

295  848 

2441  370 

New  South  Wales  ... 

C  973,330 

C  6  215  329 

Van  Diemen's  Land  
Port  Philip  .... 

167 

73,171 

99,415 

323,995 

i  993,979 

1  4,210,301 

\  2,626,178 
785  348 

4°  748 

51,590 

British  America  

1,217 

139 

70 

14 

15,793 

British  West  Indies  
United  States  of  America. 

2,894 

53 
8,533 

760 

578 

80,468 

1,725 
7,313 

2.0->9 
237,306 

3,286 
115,095 
3009 

842 

Brazil     -... 

43,014 

4,311 

4.277 

37 

1.148 

18,760 

9.182 

Rio  de  la  Plata 

73,159 

41,527 

68,759 

331,265 

19,441 

962  900 

616721 

14,792 

2 

586,796 

14,313 

5,741 

Mexico       

1,213,740 

Guernsey  and  Man  

41,407 

6,264 

19,015 

22,266 

7.745 

246 

11.830 

Total  Pounds  weight. 

10,914,137 

13.640,375 

9.789.020 

43,795,281 

32.313.059 

42,174,5:32 

46,221,781  1 

*  Bischoflf,  Table  6th,  Appendix.  t  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  tiie  Treasury,  1846. 

;  See  Bischoff,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  107,  153,  154,  163,  173,  175,  176,  &c.  The  testimon/here  alluded  to,  or  nn 
abstract  of  it  will  be  given  in  a  subsequent  Letter. 

|[  If  these  sound  like  strong  expressions,  I  have  to  say  that  I  shall  be  prepared  to  prove  them,  and  shall 
to  do,  in  a  subsequent  Letter,  from  the  testimony  of  the  fir«t  manufacturers  of  England  before  a  Committe* 
of  the  House  of  Lords.  Nor  were  the  facts  disputed  by  an  interest  represented  before  the  same  Committee. 
who  had  every  inducement  to  do  so,  if  they  could  be  sustained  in  it 

§  See  Appendix  of  the  above  work,  vol.  ii.  Misled  by  the  title  on  the  rover,  I  have  nowhere  before 
given  the  proper  desisrnation  to  Mr.  BischofTa  work.  Wherever  the  authority  of  this  gentleman  is  gives 
fou  v£i  *^derstand  that  it  is  derived  from  the  work  just  named.  Published  Lcn'iou,  1842. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  Ill 

•nd  therefore  indicates,  as  well  as  the  case  admits  of — home  manufactures 
remaining  the  same — the  rise  or  decline  of  wool-growing,  in  the  several 
nations,  for  the  period  indicated. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above,  that  Spain,  (and  we  may  include  the 
whole  Peninsula,)  once  so  famous  for  her  wools,  has  sunk  to  a  fifth  or 
sixth  rate  wool-producing  country,  and  that  her  exports  are  still  constantly 
vbcliriing;  that  Germany  and  Prussia  have  reached  their  climax,  and  are 
on  the  wane ;  that  Russia,  Italy,  Australia  and  the  East  Indies  are  the 
most  rapid  increasers. 

The  high  prices  of  land  and  provisions — nearly  double  those  on  the  Con- 
tinent* (far  more  than  double  those  on  many  portions  of  it) — the  onerous  gen 
eral  taxes  and  parochial  assessments,  will  not  allow  wool  to  be  grown  in 
England  for  its  own  sake.  The  sheep  must  be  reared,  as  a  matter  of  pure 
necessity,  to  sustain  her  present  system  of  convertible  husbandry.  A  sheep 
fitted  for  that  object,  and  to  make  the  most  meat  in  the  shortest  time,  is 
the  main  desideratum.  Wool  is  but  a  secondary  consideration..  None 
but  the  coarse,  early  maturing  breeds  will,  therefore,  ever  be  grown  there. 
Unless  some  great  revolution  should  take  place  in  her  Agriculture,  these 
are  not  likely  to  ever  materially  increase  or  diminish  from  their  present 
number.  If  any  effect  is  produced  on  this  husbandry  by  the  abolition  of 
the  Corn-Laws,  I  think  it  will  be  to  diminish  rather  than  increase  the  num 
ber  of  sheep. 

France,  especially  in  some  of  her  Southern  Provinces,  is  admirably 
adapted  to  Sheep  Husbandry.  In  1825,  the  number  of  sheep  in  the  King- 
dom was  estimated  to  exceed  30,000,000,  but  it  is  supposed  to  have  mate- 
rially diminished  since  that  period,  by  reason  of  the  division  of  landed 
property,  and  other  causes.t  With  a  population  variously  estimated  from 
163-*-  to  168  to  the  square  mile,J  a  soil  a  fair  portion  of  which  is  well 
adapted  to  the  growth  of  bread-stuffs,  and  the  remainder  to  the  vine,  fruits, 
the  mulberry  (for  silk),  etc.,  France  finds  it  better  economy  to  cultivate 
these,  and  draw  a  considerable  portion  of  her  supplies  of  wool  from  other 
countries — her  fine  wools  from  Germany  and  Spain,  her  coarse  ones  from 
the  regions  bordering  on  the  northern  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  the 
Gulf  of  Venice,  and  the  Black  Sea.  France  exported  84,799  Ibs.  of  wool, 
costing  less  than  7  cents  a  pound,  to  the  United  States  in  1846.||  This 
sma11  funouiu  mrght  have  been  of  her  own  growth,  or  derived  from  her 
transit  '*ade,  By  the  statistical  Tables  appended  to  his  description  of 
France,  oy  Malte  Brun,  it  appears  that  of  the  51,777,000  hectares§  which 
he  estimates  to  comprise  the  surface,  22,818,000  are  in  arable  land,  while 
the  entire  extent  of  meadows  and  pastures  (which  are  divided  about 
evenly)  but  little  exceeds  7,000,000  hectares.^ 

Spain,  it  appears  from  the  Table,  now  exports  less  wool  to  England 
than  Italy  or  Russia !  and  is  still  (as  late  as  1840)  on  the  decrease.  This 
is  not  owing  to  the  increase  of  her  manufactures,**  or  by  a  diversion  of  her 
exports  into  other  channels.  The  export  to  France  would,  undoubtedly, 
show  a  similar  falling  off.  That  to  the  United  States  is  but  nominal.  In 
1836  it  was  but  20,730  lbs.,tt  and  as  this  was  wool  costing  less  than  7  cents 
per  pound,  and  came  from  the  Mediterranean  side  of  Spain,  it  was  prol>- 
ably  in  her  ports  merely  in  transitu.  The  Gibraltar  trade,  given  in  the 
Table,  I  take  to  be  exclusively  or  mainly  a  transit  one.  From  the  Balan* 

*  See  Circular  of  John  Maitlnml  and  others,  Committee  of  the  Woolen  Trade  in  London— Bischcff,  vol 
«.,  p.  3*.  t  Bischoff,  Youatt. 

J  Mitchell  assumes  the  former,  and  Morse  the  latter  to  be  the  population. 

j|  Report  of  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  1846.  §  A  hectare  is  2  acres  1  rood  and  about  35-4  roda, 

IT  Malte  Bmn,  Am.  ed.  vol.  iij.,  p.  1029. 

**  Spain  w  not  estimated  to  manufacture  more  than  one-twentieth  of  the  woolens  consumed  by  nor  Ifv 
•yclopredia  Amor.,  art.  Spain.  tt  Report  Secretary  Treasury,  I84f-. 


112  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

za  Mercantil,*  published  by  the  Government,  it  appears  that  the  exports 
of  Spain  of  all  kinds,  in  1826,  amounted  to  only  c£l,587,507.  The  exports 
of  raw  and  manufactured  silk  and  gut  reached  <£243,390  ;  lead,  .€215,360  ; 
wines,  66189,340  ;  wool,  <£161,650  ;  fruits,  £  152,075  ;  brandy,  66107,715 ; 
barilla,  ^€79,200,  etc.  This  exhibits  not  only  the  smallness  of  the  entire 
export  of  wool,  but  the  diminished  comparative  importance  of  this  once 
great  national  staple. 

The  number  of  sheep  in  Spain  is  still  placed  by  many  writers  as  high  aa 
10,000,000  for  the  migratory  flocks,  and  8,000,000  for  the  stationary  ones. 
Even  Mr.  Youatt  has  fallen  into  this,  as  it  strikes  me,  unquestionable  error. t 
If  Spain  possesses  18,000,000  of  sheep,  what  does  she  do  with  the  wool, 
which  should  amount  to  at  least  54,000,000  Ibs.  1  Admitting — which  prob- 
ably exceeds  the  fact — that  her  export  to  France  and  other  nations  equals 
that  to  England,  and  that  she  manufactures  a  quantity  equal  to  twice  her 
whole  export,  the  aggregate  amount  would  be  less  than  8,000,000  Ibs. 
The  author  of  the  article  on  Sheep  Raising  in  the  Encyclopaedia  Ameri- 
cana, places  the  number  of  the  whole  fine-wool  sheep  in  Spain  at  4,000,000. 
This  1  think  high  enough,  and  probably  not  far  from  the  truth.  This  is  a 
million  less  sheep  than  those  of  the  State  of  New-York  in  1839  ! 

The  actual  facilities  for  growing  wool  in  Spain  have  already  been  al- 
luded to  in  my  fifth  Letter.  I  should  not  consider  it  necessary  to  bestow 
farther  examination  on  them,  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  owing  to  various 
associations  connected  with  the  early  history  of  the  Merino  sheep,  and  the 
lead  once  taken  by  Spain  in  the  production  of  fine  wool,  her  facilities  have 
been,  popularly,  prodigiously  overrated,  and  even  the  difficulties  under 
which  she  has  labored  for  this  husbandry,  magnified  into  advantages.  Her 
northern  mountains  are  high,  broken,  cold,  and  exposed  to  peculiarly 
piercing  north  winds,!  and  the  winter  on  them  lasts,  as  I  infer  from  Mr. 
Livingston,  about  six  months.  He  says  :  (| 

"  When  the  severe  weather  commences  on  the  mountains,  the  shepherds  prepare  to  de- 
part, which  is  generally  about  the  end  of  September  and  throughout  the  month  of  October 
to  seek  more  temperate  climates  and  fresher  pasture  In  April  or  May,  according  as  the 
season  is  late  or  early,  they  return  to  the  mountains. 

It  might  be  practicable  to  prepare  hay  for  winter  use,  in  favorable  posi 
tions,  and  particularly  on  the  parameras,  on  these  mountains,  and  thus  tho 
migratory  sheep  might  become  stationary  on  them.  But  the  Spaniard  is 
too  much  wedded  to  ancient  customs,  too  little  in  love  with  change  of  any 
kind,  and,  most  of  all,  a  change  bringing  an  addition  of  labor,  to  thus  in- 
novate on  his  own  habits  or  those  of  his  flocks. 

The  high  basins  of  the  Douro  and  Tagus  (embracing  the  two  Castiles 
and  Leon)  are  too  valuable  for  the  cultivation  of  grain,  vineyards,  fruits, 
etc.,  to  be  profitably  devoted  to  the  pasturage  of  sheep.  The  wheat  of 
Spain  is  among  the  best  in  Europe,§  and  it  is  stated  in  Mr.  Jacob's  Tracts 
on  the  Corn  Trade,  that  she  frequently  does  not  raise  enough  for  her  own 
consumption.^!  For  the  vine,  olive,  fig,  mulberry,  barilla,  and  various 
other  products  of  equal  profit  both  for  home  consumption  and  for  export, 
ebe  is  not  excelled  probably  by  any  country  in  Europe.  A  friend  of  mine 
who  traveled  in  Spain  in  1845,  describes  the  valleys  above  alluded  to,  as 
almost  exclusively  devoted  to  tillage  crops.  In  the  Southern  Provinces, 


*  Quoted  by  McCulloch— Com.  Die.,  art  Cadiz. 

t  See  Youatt  on  the  Sheep,  Lond.  ed..  p.  147  et  supra.  Mr.  Livingston  in  his  day  estimated  the  migratory 
•beep  at  5,000,000,  the  stationary  at  8,000,000.  See  Essay  on  Sheep,  pp.  36,  39.  Mr.  L.  was  also  undoubt- 
edly in  error.  |  Malte  Brun.  |j  Livingston  on  Sheep,  p.  36. 

£Note  by  Percival  to  Am.  ed.  of  Malte  Brun  ;  art.  Spain. 

if  Quoted  by  McCulloch — Com.  Die. ;  art.  Odessa. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


where  rain  does  not  sometimes  fall  for  months  in  the  Bummer*  the  grass 
becomes  entirely  dried  up,  so  that  flocks,  to  be  made  stationary  there, 
"vould  require  hay  or  other  prepared  food  for  several  of  the  e-  mmer  months 

The  Transkumantes  or  migratory  flocks  must  still  continue,  then,  to 
travel  from  the  northern  mountains  to  the  warm  basins  of  the  Guadiana 
and  the  Guadalqui^er  for  their  winter  quarters,  and  return  to  the  moun- 
tains* in  the  summer,  or  this  branch  of  the  husbandry  would  undoubtedly 
become  extinct.  The  effect  on  the  health  and  condition  of  the  sheep,  and 
the  important  item  which  it  would  form  on  the  debit  side  of  the  account 
in  Sheep  Husbandry,  to  thus  drive  flocks  a  six  weeks'  journey  twice  a  year, 
(consuming  nearly  a  quarter  of  the  year  on  the  road,)  can  be  estimated  by 
any  one  acquainted  with  such  matters.!  The  losses  and  expenses  thus  in- 
curred would  absorb  all  the  profits  of  the  husbandry,  were  it  not  for  the 
extraordinary  privileges  conferred  on  the  flockmasters  (mainly  consisting 
of  the  King,  nobles  and  clergy)  by  the  absurd  and  tyrannical  regulations 
of  the  Consejo  de  la  Mesta.\  The  abolition  of-the  "  Council  of  tjie  Royal 
Troop,"  there  cannot  be  a  reasonable  doubt,  would  be  immediately  fol- 
lowed by  the  downfall  of  the  migratory  Sheep  Husbandry  in  Spain.  That 
the  day  has  gone  by  when  this  unfortunate  and  distracted  country  catf 
ever  again  enjoy  the  blessings  of  permanent  peace  and  settled  institutions, 
under  which  this  or  any  other  branch  of  husbandry  can  increase  or  steadily 
flourish,  until  she  reaches  a  point  of  political  civilization^tentirely  incom 
patible  with  the  continuance  of  a  relic  of  tyranny  and  barbarism  so  mon 
strous  as  the  Mesta,  I  consider  equally  certain.  I  see,  therefore,  no  possible, 
or  at  least  probable  contingency  under  which  the  migratory  Sheep  Hus- 
bandry of  Spain  is  likely  to  be  extended,  or  even  to  permanently  main- 
tain its  present  footing.  Nor  is  there  any  probability  of  her  again  rising 
into  importance  as  a  wool-producing  country,  from  her  stationary  flocks. 

Italy,  though  too  accessible  to  the  dry,  hot  wind  of  Africa,  (the  Solano,  .' 
to  exhibit  the  uniformity  of  deep-green  verdure  seen  north  of  the  Alps,  ;$ 
nevertheless  —  much  of  it  —  a  country  of  fine  pasturage.  The  great  plai^ 
between  the  Alps  and  Appenines,  the  basin  of  the  Po  —  including  Lom- 
bardy,  Sardinia,  Parma,  Modena,  etc.  —  is  one  of  the  most  productive  in 
Europe,  and  its  extraordinary  facilities  for  irrigation  allow  five  or  six 
crops  of  hay  to  be  mown  in  a  single  season.  In  Tuscany,  the  orange  and 
lemon  begin  to  make  their  appearance  —  the  soil  is  alluvial  and  rich,  and 
the  mountainous  districts  are  finely  adapted  to  pasturage.  The  States  of 
the  Church  are  also  highly  fertile,  and  abound  in  good  herbage  ;  and  on 
the  deadly  Campagna  di  Roma,  and  even  the  Pontine  Marshes,  flocks  and 
herds  find  an  abundant  subsistence  in  winter,  and  are  driven  to  the  Appe- 
rines  in  summer.  The  same  remarks  apply  to  the  northern  portions  of 
the  Kingdom  of  Naples.  The  southern  extremity  of  Italy  is  exposed  to 
a  burning  climate,  and  exhibits  the  vegetation  of  Africa. 

The  whole  superficial  area  of  Italy  does  not  exceed  122,000  squar*? 
miles,  and  her  population  is  172  to  the  square  mile.  Scarcely  raising 
bread-stuffs  enough  for  her  own  consumption,  taking  one  year  with  an- 
other, ||  there  is  not  the  most  remote  prospect  of  her  ever  becoming  an  im- 
portant wool-exporting  country. 

*  %e  Hon.  Wm.  Jarvis's  Letter  to  me  on  the  subject  of  Merino  Sheep,  when  I  acted  as  Corr.  Sec'y  of 
ihe  N.  Y.  State  Agricultural  Society—  Transactions,  1841,  p.  3:32. 

t  Since  giving  this  as  the  distance  from  "  the  middle  of  Estremadura  to  the  Cantabrinn  Mountains"  (Let 
ter  V.),  I  gee  it  stated  in  the  Encyclopedia  Americana  that  "the  whole  journey  from  the  mountains  to  the 
interior  of  Estremadura  is  reckoned  at  about  690  miles."  Measurement  on  the  map  will  show  that  it  does 
not  exceed  4  degrees  or  277  miles,  but  the  difference  may  be  made  by  the  circuitousness  of  the  route,  or 
the  writer  may  refer  to  more  eastern  portions  of  the  great  Appenine  Chain.  I  find  it  stated  by  several  wr> 
ters  that  each  journey  consumes  six  weeks. 

t  For  a  description  of  this  odious  tribunal  see  Livingston  on  Sheep,  p.  35. 

D  tee  McCulloch's  Com.  Die.  ;  art.  Odessa, 

P 


114  MIEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

Turkey  both  in  Europe  and  Asia,  it  would  appear  from  Table  8,  is 
but  a  trifling  exporter  of  wool.  It  should  be  remarked,  howeve~,  that  the 
wools  of  the  Western  Provinces,  and  of  Greece,  are  generally  exported 
from  Trieste  to  France.*  Under  the  late  American  Tariff,  ("  Tariff  of  1842,") 
the  export  to  the  United  States  was  becoming  an  important  one — much 
greater  than  that  to  England.  In  1846,  it  amounted,  of  wools  costing  less 
than  7  cents  a  pound,  to  5,744,328  Ibs.t  European  Turkey  has  a  colder 
and  less  uniform  climate  than  Italy,  but  still  it  is  a  fine  one,J  and  being  a 
broken,  mountainous  country,  w«ll  adapted  to  pasturage,  and  but  sparsely 
populated,  (55  to  the  square  mile,)  it  is  wonderful  that  so  little  attention 
has  been  paid  to  the  culture  of  wool.  But  the  proud  and  indolent  Turk 
spurns  all  rural  labor,  or  all  interest  in  it,  leaving  it  to  his  vassals — and 
these,  destitute  of  any  security  to  person  or  property,  taxed,  oppressed, 
liable  to  be  compelled  to  make  forced  sales  to  bey  or  ayan — or,  what,  is 
worse,  their  property  seized  outright — have  little  inducement  to  accumu- 
late a  species  of  property  so  easily  pounced  upon.|| 

Germany  (including  Prussia  and  Austria)  is  now  the  great  producer  of 
fine  wools,  supplying  not  only  her  own  manufactories — which  are  es- 
timated to  consume  half  the  whole  product — but  exporting  the  large  sur- 
plus indicated  in  the  Table.  Nor  is  this  all ;  for  to  France,  the  Nether- 
lands, Switzerland,  &c.,  she  is  supposed  to  export  half  as  much  as  toEng- 
land.§  The  wnole  region  thus  included — leaving  out  the  Austrian  States 
in  Italy,  which  have  already  been  considered — comprises  a  territory  of 
468,000  square  miles,  and  a  population  of  58,800,000,  or  130§to  the  square 
mile.  The  country  on  the  north  is  level,  vast  plains  extending  from  the 
declivities  of  the  mountains  which  occupy  the  center  of*  Germany,  to  the 
North  Sea  and  the  Baltic.  The  center  is  mountainous,  and  its  plains  are 
ery  elevated.  The  extreme  South  is  covered  with  mountains.  From  the 
Little  Carpathian  or  Jablunka  Mountains,  and  from  the  eastern  termina- 
tion of  the  Styrian  and  Julian  Alps,  stretch  away  the  vast  Hunprarian 
and  Transylvanian  plains  to  the  confines  of  Turkey. 

The  great  northern  plain  of  Germany  is  low,  sandy,  flat,  often  consist- 
ing of  naked  silicious  sands  or  those  covered  with  lichens,  interspersed 
with  frequent  marshes,  and  terminating  in  many  places  on  the  Baltic  in 
vast  morasses,  or  land  redeemed  from  the  sea  by  dikes.  As  a  whole,  the 
land,  particularly  in  the  maritime  Provinces,  is  of  an  inferior  quality,  but 
some  portions  of  it,  as  for  example  in  Silesia  and  Saxony,  is  of  a  quality 
ranging  from  medium  to  good.  The  soil  of  Central  and  Southern  Ger- 
many (including  Austria)  must,  of  course,  exhibit  many  varieties.  In  gen 
eral,  however,  it  may  be  set  down  as  productive  in  the  valleys,  and  or- 
dinary or  poor  on  the  high  lands.  The  lower  plains  of  Wirtemberg. 
Baden,  the  South  of  Bavaria,  etc.,  are  exceedingly  fertile.  The  plains  of 
Hungary  on  the  south-east  not  uncommonly  exhibit  soils  of  remarkable 
richness,  but  they  alternate  with  inferior  ones,  and  with  vast  and  un- 
healthy morasses.  Taken  together,  the  region  which  I  have  included  un- 
der the  designation  of  Germany,  though  not  a  sterile  country,  is  noi 
favored  with  soils  naturally  as  productive  as  those  of  Italy  or  Spain ;  nor 
would  it  at  all  compare  with  that  portion  of  the  United  States  west  of  the 
Apalachians. 

The  climate  of  Germany  is  thus  summed  up  by  Malte  Brun  :fl 

*  Southey,  quoted  by  Bischoff,  vol.  ii.  p.  356.  t  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  1846. 

J  For  a  picture  of  this  as  well  as  the  other  natural  features  of  Turkey,  both  in  Europe  and  Asia,  Gr.  eco 
and  the  Ionian  Isles — as  lielicately  accurate,  as  eoft  and  rich  as  one  of  the  scenes  of  Claude — see  C^iilde 
Harold,  Canto  II.,  the  opening  of  the  Giaour,  the  Bride  of  Abydos,  etc.  Though  this  may  be  deemed  i.  sin- 
gular, it  is  the  very  best  reference,  which  my  reading  enables  me  to  make. 

It  See  Urquhart  on  Tuikey  and  its  Resources,  p.  139.  §  Encyclopaedia  Americana  ;  art.  Woof 

t  Amu  ed.f  vol.  ii.,  p.  594. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  US 

"  The  climate  of  Germany  is  greatly  modified  by  the  elevation  and  declivities  of  the  coun 
try ;  but  independently  of  that  cause,  it  does  not  admit,  from  its  extent  in  latitude,  of  any 
vague  or  general  definition.  It  may  be  divided,  however,  into  three  great  zones,  and  these 
too,  are  susceptible  of  other  subdivisions.  The  first  is  that  of  the  northern  plains,  of  which 
the  temperature  is  not  so  cold  as  it  is  humid  and  variable ;  they  are  exposed  to  every  wind. 
while  fogs  and  tempests  are  conveyed  to  this  region  from  two  seas.  The  north-west  plaii  is 
subject,  from  its  vicinity  to  the  North  Sea,  to  frequent  rains  and  desolating  hurricanes.  1  he 
influence  of  the  Baltic  on  the  north-east  plain  is  less  powerful ;  the  climate,  though  colder, 
is  not  so  humid  and  variable. 

The  second  general  zone  comprehends  all  the  central  part  of  Germany The  moun- 

tains  in  that  extensive  region  form  a  barrier  against  the  effects  of  the  maritime  climate.  The 
sky  is  not  obscured  by  mists,  and  the  regular  ordei-  of  the  seasons  is  not  interrupted  by 
winds  and  tempests  ;  but  the  elevation  of  the  soil  renders  the  climate  colder  than  in  other 

countries  in  the  same  latitude  nearer  theUevel  of  the  sea The  third  general  zone  is 

that  of  the  Alps.  The  lofty  hights  and  rapid  declivities  connect  very  different  climates; 
thus  the  cultqre  of  the  vine  ceases  in  Bavaria  and  Upper  Austria,  and  appears  anew  with 
fresh  vigor  iu  the  neighborhood  of  Vienna.  The  eternal  glaciers  of  Tyrol  and  Salsburg  are 
contiguous  to  the  valleys  of  Styria  and  Carniola,  covered  with  fields  of  maize  or  vineyards, 
and  almost  border  on  the  olives  of  Trieste  and  the  lemon-trees  of  Riva." 

Contiguous  mountains  render  the  north  of  Hungary  extremely  cold. 
Farther  south,  the  climate  rapidly  becomes  warmer,  and  on  the  lower 
plains  in  the  extreme  south  the  heat  is  intense  and  the  climate  insalubrious 

The-  bauer  or  farmer  in  those  States  of  Germany  where  the  feudal  ten- 
ures have  been  abolished,  and  the  land  is  held  in  fee  simple,  owns  four  or 
five  English  acres  of  land.  These  men,  says  Mr.  Jacob, 

"  although  placed  above  the  pressure  of  want,  or  possessing  the  bare  necessaries  of  life, 
have  very  little  beyond  them.  Such  as  are  industrious  and  frugal,  by  cultivating  their  small 
portion  of  ground,  may  raise  a  sufficient  quantity  of  potatoes  for  their  own  consumption,  corn 
for  their  bread,  and  provisions  for  two  draught  oxen.  They  all  raise  a  small  quantity  of 
flax,  and  some  few  contrive  to  keep  Jive  or  six  sheep.  It  is  often  no  easy  matter  for  those  to 
find  occupation,  who  are  desirous  ot  other  employment  in  addition  to  the  cultivation  of  then- 
own  laud,  for  no  agricultural  labor  can  be  carried  on  during  the  long  and  severe  winters.  .  . 
It  is  rare  indeed  that  they  can  afford  to  have  meat  of  any  kind,  and  those  only  who  are 
more  prosperous  than  their  neighbors  can  keep  a  cow  to  provide  themselves  with  milk." 

The  wool  raised  by  these  owners  of  five  or  six  sheep,  is  annually 
bought  up  by  Jews  and  other  traveling  agents,  who  go  from  house  to 
house  to'  collect  it. 

The  following  extracts  from  William  Howitt's  sprightly  and  interesting' 
'"  Rural  and  Domestic  Life  in  Germany  "  will  show  under  what  circum- 
stances a  great  portion  of  its  wool  is  grown  : 

"  Here  you  look  in  vain  for  anything  like  the  green  fields  and  hedge-rows  of  England.  .  .  . 
It  is  all  one  fenceless  and  plowed  field.  Long  rows  of  trees  on  each  side  of  the  road  are  all 
that  divide  them  from  the  fields.  ....  The  keeping  up  of  the  cattle  presents  you  a  new 
feature  of  rural  life.  As  the  quantity  of  land  left  for  grass  is  very  small,  the  grass  is  proper- 
tionably  economized.  The  little  patches  of  grass  between  woods  and  in  the  open  parts  of 
the  woods,  the  little  strips  along  the  river-banks  and  even  in  gardens  and  shrubberies,  are- 
carefully  preserved  for  this  purpose.  You  see  women  in  these  places  cutting  grass  with  a? 
email  hook  or  smooth-edged  sickle,  and  carrying  it  away  on  their  heads  in  baskets  lor  their 
cows.  You  see  the  grass  on  the  lawns  of  good  houses,  on  grass-plats,  and  in  shrubberies, 
very  long  and  wild ;  and  when  you  ask  why  it  is  not  kept  closer  mown,  the  reply  is  that  it' 
is  given  to  the  milk-woman,  often  for  a  consideration,  who  cuts  it  as  she  wants  it.  You  see 
other  women  picking  the  long  grass  put  of  the  forests,  or  under  the  bushes  on  the  hill-sides- 

where  the  slopes  have  been  mown,  for  the  same  purpose The  children  may  be  seen* 

•landing  iu  the  stream  in  the  villages  carefully  washing  weeds  before  they  are  given  to  the 

cattle Nettles,  chervil,  cow-parsnip,  which  in  England  are  left  to  seed  and  rot,  are 

all  here  cut  for  the  imprisoned  cow.  You  go  down  to  the  river-side  to  fish,  and  a  peasant  is 
BOOH  with  you,  chattering  and  gesticulating,  pointing  to  your  feet  and  to  the  grass.  It  is  to  lei 
you  know  that  you  are  not  to  angle  there,  because  it  treads  down  the  grass ;  and  accordingly, 
in  Germany,  with  rivers  full  offish,  you  seldom  see  an  angler;  if  you,  he  is  pretty  sure  to  be  an 

Englishman Not  a  sheep,  a  horse,  or  a  cow  is  to  be  seen.  .  .  .  The  mountain  tops  are 

covered  with  wood.  The  slopes  are  covered  with  vineyards.  You  ask  where  the  cattle  are  1 
You  are  answered,  in  the  stalls.  Where  are  the  sheep  1  Under  the  care  of  shepherds, 
iomewhere.-— Heaven  knows  where !  you  never  come  across  them.  It  is  only  011  the  gren? 


L16  SHEEP    HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

plains  of  the  North  that  you  afterward  find  large  flocks  and  herds,  under  the  care  of  keeper* 
kept  close  together ;  for  as  they  have  no  fences,  they  are  under  the  momentary  peril  of  uiak 
ing  ravages  on  their  neighbor's  crops." 

Between  Leipsic  and  Berlin,  on  the  plains  of  Saxony,  Mr.  Howitt  first 
saw  flocks  of  sheep  in  the  field,  and  he  says  : 

"  Onn  thing  which  surprises  an  Englishman  is  to  see  what  wretched  creatures  are  th« 

iheep  which  produce  the  famous  Saxony  wool In  fact,  it  is  a  prevailing  idea  thai 

the  leaner  the  sheep  the  finer  the  wool.  It  is  the  wool  to  which  all  the  attention  of  the  grow- 
er is  devoted,  and  therefore,  generally  speaking,  a  more  miserable  assemblage  of  animal* 

than  a  flock  of  German  sheep  is  not  to  be  seen On  the  plains  they  wander  under  the 

care  of  a  shepherd,  and  for  the  most  part  on  fallows  and  stubbles,  to  pick  up  odds  and  ends, 
rather  than  to  enjoy  a  regular  pasture.  You  may  see  them  penned  on  a  blazing  fallow,  where 
not  a  trace  of  vegetable  matter  is  to  be  seen,  for  the  greater  part  of  a  summer  day,  which  in 

this  climate  is  pretty  much  like  being  roasted  alive For  what  purpose  they  are  here, 

except  to  starve  and  melt  them  wito  leanness,  I  never  could  discover The  sheep,  be- 
sides being  lean,  are  generally  dreadfully  lame  with  that  pestilent  complaint  the  foot-rot,  and 
their  keepers,  apparently,  trouble  themselves  very  little  about  it." 

Mr.  Howitt  states  that  it  is  necessary  to  economize  the  land  so  closely,  to 
sustain  the  population,  in  some  parts  of  Germany,  that  the  peasants  actuah 
ly  convey  earth  up  steep  hill-sides  in  baskets,  and  cover  the  rocks  with  it, 
to  thus  add  to  the  tillable  soil ! 

In  reviewing  the  preceding  facts,  you  are  struck  with  no  one  which 
would  indicate  particular  natural  advantages  for  sheep  rearing  in  the  States 
of  Germany,  Prussia,  and — with  an  exception  presently  to  be  named- 
Austria.  The  climate  of  the  North  is  humid,  fickle  and  tempestuous;  that 
of  the  middle  cold  with  long  winters.  Neither  possess  any  advantages 
over  our  own  Northern  States— and  in  some  respects  are  decidedly  inferior 
to  them.  This  was  the  opinion  of  that  eminent  sheep-breeder  and  excel- 
lent man,  Henry  D.  Grove,,  of  this  State,  who  wras  a  native  of  Prussian 
Saxony,  and  who  certainly  would  never  be  suspected  by  any  one  who 
knew  him  personally,  of  any  want  of  partiality  for  anything  pertaining  to 
his  Fatherland  !  In  his  letter  to  Benton  and  Barry  on  wool-growing,  &c.. 
he  says : 

"Ten  years'  experience  has  fully  satisfied  me  on  this  point.  In  some  respects,  we  posseai 
natural  advantages  over  Germany." 

In  what  particulars  he  awarded  the  preference  to  the  United  States,  his 
letters  and  oral  declarations  to  me,  leave  no  uncertainty.  It  was  both  in 
soil  and  climate,  and  in  instituting  the  comparison,  he  had  his  eye  not  on  the 
most  favored  sections  of  our  country,  but  on  the  hills  of  Rensselaer  County 
in  this  State,  where  he  resided. 

If  in  natural  advantages  we  surpass  Germany,  how  much  more  we  do 
In  artificial  ones,  may  be  estimated  from  the  preceding  extracts  from 
Messrs,  Jacob  and  Howitt.  To  these  general  remarks  portions  of  Hunga- 
ry form  an  exception.  In  these,  the  climate  is  fine,  the  soil  rich,  and,  the 
feudal  tenures  remaining  unabolished,  the  land  is  yet  held  in  those  large 
estates  so  favorable  to  Sheep  Husbandry.  Prince  Esterhazy,  the  former 
Austrian  Ambassador  to  England,  says  Mr.  Paget,*  owns  an  estate  of  some- 
thing more  than  7,000  square  miles,  including  130  villages,  40  towns,  and  34 
^castles.  His  sheep  are  said  to  amount  to  3,000,000.t  Other  nobles  own  flocka 
•of  from  ten  to  thirty  thousand.  The  demi-savage  Magyar  serf,  whose 
labor  costs  nothing,  whose  principal  garment  is  a  sheep-skin,  and  whose 
miserable  and  scanty  food  is  more  than  half  stolen,!  makes  a  most  econom- 
ical shepherd  !  Hungary  lacks  facilities  for  internal  communication,  and 
-her  convenience  to  the  Mediterranean  markets — excepting  Turkey— so  aa 

*  Paget's  Hungary  and  Transylvania,  rol.  i.  p-   46.  t  Youatt 

4;  See  Paget's  Huugai  y,  &c.,  p.  13  to  19. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.          117 


to  first  throw  her  agricultural  products  into  ports  where  the  demand  is  good, 
is  decidedly  inferior  to  that  of  Italy,  France  and  Spain.  The  Danube 
is  the  only  natural  outlet  to  her  commerce — which,  thanks  to  a  liberality 
of  policy  on  the  part  of  Turkey,*  contrasting  most  favorably  with  that 
of  several  enlightened  nations!  under  similar  ciicumstances,  she  enjoys 
without  limitation.  To  reach  Trieste,  a  long  land  carriage  is  indispensa* 
ble.  Her  exports  too,  are  embarrassed  by  the  imposts  and  narrow  restric- 
tions of  the  Imperial  Government.  She  cannot,  therefore,  export  cheap 
heavy  articles,  such  as  provisions,  to  so  great  advantage  as  the  Levantine 
nations  :  but  every  circumstance  points  to  her  as  a  country  which  should 
be  one  of  the  first  on  the  Eastern  Continent,  for  the  production  of  wine,  silk, 
wool,  &c. 

Separated  from  Hungary  and  Transylvania  only  by  the  Carpathian  Moun- 
tains and  Turkish  Moldavia,  lie  the  fertile  provinces  of  South-eastern  Rus- 
sia, the  basins  of  the  Dniester,  the  Dnieper,  and  the  Don.  From  the  Car- 
pathians to  the  Caspian,  across  the  entire  extent  of  the  plains  of  ancient 
Scythia,  not  a.n  elevation  which  could  be  properly  dignified  with 'the  ap- 
pellation of  a  mountain,  breaks  the  immense  expanse  !  The  lower  valley 
of  the  Dniester  or  Borysthenes,  formerly  known  as  the  Ukraine,  has  been* 
celebrated  for  centuries  for  its  pasturage — for  its  horses  f  and  cattle  :  and  re- 
cently flocks  of  Merino  sheep  have  been  introduced  there  and  successfully 
crossed  with  the  native  variety.  In  1839,  Mr.  Slade  states  that  many  of 
the  colonists  on  the  Steppe  and  in  Bessarabia  had  20,000  sheep.  Merinos 
were  introduced  into  Crimea  or  Taurida,  by  M.  Rouvier,  a  French  ad- 
venturer, in  about  1802. ||  In  this  favored  peninsula,  which  the  learned 
Pallas  describes  as  little  less  than  an  earthly  Paradise,  they  have  multiplied 
exceedingly,  and  extended  to  Cherson,  Ekatherinoslav,  Bessarabia  and 
other  provincial  Governments.§  The  export-  of  wool  from  Odessa  in  1829 
was  3,402  Ibs.;  in  1830,  21,361  Ibs. ;  in  1831,  35,058  Ibs. ;  in  1832,  41,558 
Ibs. ;  in  1833,  66,457  Ibs.;  in  1834,  66,901  lbs.fi 

In  one  respect  Southern  Russia  has  the  advantage  over  Hungary.  It  is 
more  sparsely  populated,  and  land  is  perhaps  in  still  lower  estimation.  As 
in  the  latter,  the  land,  much  of  it,  is  fertile  and  well  adapted  to  pasturage, 
and  the  price  of  labor  is  next  to  nothing.  But  for  causes  adverted  to  in  the 
opening  part  of  my  eighth  Letter,  there  is  a  wide  disparity  in  the  climates  of 
the  two  countries,  if  we  leave  Crimea  out  of  view.  That  of  Russia,  affect- 
ed by  the  north  and  north-east  winds — which  the  Carpathians  exclude  from 
Hungary — has  a  winter  which  for  length  and  intensity  is  entirely  unequaled 
in  the  latter,  excepting  in  its  northern  mountainous  regions.  Sheep  must  be 
housed,  and  fed  for  some  months  on  dry  food,  in  Southern  Russia.  Taking 
into  view  the  broad,  level  steppes**  and  their  luxuriant  natural  verdure — 
taking  into  view  the  climate,  warm  in  summer,  cold  and  exposed  to  winds 
of  great  severity  in  winter,  it  strikes  me  that  there  must  be  no  inconsider- 
able resemblance  between  this  portion  of  Russia  and  our  own  north- 
western prairies  in  corresponding  latitudes  (45°  to  46°).  But  when  the 
cost  of  land  and  labor  is  taken  into  consideration,  wool  can  be  produced 
cheaper,  in  my  judgment,  in  South-western  Russia  than  in  Spain,  France, 
G  ermany,  Italy  or  any  other  portion  of  Europe,  excepting  Hungary.  Were 

*  This  power  is  remarkable  for  its  liberality  in  all  its  regulations  which  affect  the  trade  and  commerce  ol 
Other  nations. 

t  e.  g.t  the  policy  of  England  in  relation  to  the  navigation  of  the  St.  Lawrence. 

J  This  wild  region  and  its  horses  have  been  rendered  classic  by  Mazeppa.  Who,  that  ever  read,  hat  far- 
got  the  description  of  the  horse  on  which  theHetman  performed  his  fiery  and  perilous  ride  I 

||  For  an  interesting  account  of  the  adventures  of  this  fortunate  French  Jason,  see  Blade's  "  Travel*  fin 
Germany  and  Russia,"  published  London,  1840. 

*  See  Slade's  Travels;  also  McCulloch's  Com.  Die.— «rt Odessa. 
IT  McCulloch's  Com.  Die.— art.  Odessa. 

"*  This  Russian  word  hag  a  similar  signification  to  prairie,  pampas,  Hanoi,  &c. 


'(18  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE   SOUTH. 

European  Turkey  differently  populated,  and  under  different  institutions,  it 
might  constitute  another  exception. 

t  Central  and  Northern  Russia,  like  the  States  north  of  Germany, 
'arc  north  of  the  wool  zone.  Their  winters  are  too  long  and  severe  to 
allow  them  to  compete  with  regions  lying  farther  south,  in  wool-growing. 

Asia  Minor,  or  Turkey  in  Asia,  and  Persia  have  heen  alluded  to — the 
former,  much  of  it,  a  fine  country  with  a  most  delightful  climate,  but  its 
natural  advantages  all  neutralized  by  its  political  systems  and  the  charac- 
ter of  its  population — the  latter,  except  in  occasional  favored  positions, 
r*uch  as  the  valleys  of  Shiraz  and  Ispahan,  a  land  of  mountain  and  desert, 
of  intense  heat  and  inter.se  cold. 

Independent  Tartary,  lying  immediately  north  of  it,  is  less  exposed  to 
the  hot  winds  of  Arabia,  but  more  so  to  the  freezing  ones  of  Siberia.  Its 
vast  dry  plains  are  usually  deserts,  excepting  on  the  borders  of  its  exceed- 
ly  rare  streams.  Great  Bucharia,  however,  in  the  south-east,  on  the  head 
'waters  of  the  Amoo  (Oxus) — from  the  Capital  of  which  Timour  (Tamer 
lane)  issued  on  his  desolating  path  of  conquest — is  a  country  of  great  fer- 
tility. Its  natural  beauties  constitute  a  favorite  theme  with  the  poets  and 
geographers  of  Persia  and  Arabia.  Since  the  opening  of  the  navigation  of 
i;he  Indus,  it  has  annually  sent  some  wool  to  Bombay,  which  constitutes  a 
part  of  that  which  is  shipped  thence  to  England,  and  is  known  in  Tablo 
8  as  East  Indian  wool. 

Afghanistan  and  Beloochistan,  protected  on  the  north  from  the  Siberian 
winds  by  the  lofty  Hindoo  Koosh  mountains,  and  less  exposed  on  the  south 
•to  those  of  Arabia,  exhibits  a  milder  and  less  variable  climate  than  that  of 
•the  conterminous  regions  of  Persia.  Among  the  Highlands  of  the  north, 
;and  those  skirting  the  Indus  on  the  east,  there  is  much  good  pasturage. 
Sir  Alexander  Barnes  states- that  four-fifths  of  the  whole  surface  of  Cabul, 
B  Province  of  the  former,  is  excellent  pasture  land.  The  wool  of  the  broad- 
tailed  sheep  of  these  countries  also  finds  its  way,  by  the  Indus,  to  Bombay, 
and  is  classed  as  East  India  wool  in  the  Table. 

From  the  high,  cold,  mountain  regions  of  Thibet,  Little  Bucharia,  &c., 
some  wools  are  exported,  through  the  same  channels,  which  come  under 
the  same  classification.  These  countries  also  export  shawl  wool.*  Most 
of  China  north  of  the  great  Desert  of  Gobi  is  a  cold,  mountainous  country. 
The  southern  portion,  or  China  Proper,  is  too  densely  populated  and  closely 
cultivated  to  be  devoted  to  pasturage. 

The  wool  trade  which  followed  the  opening  of  the  Indus  (the  raw  ma- 
terial being  supplied  by  Afghanistan,  Great  Bucharia,  Thibet  and  some 
of  the  Hindostanese  Provinces)  might  doubtless  be  swelled  into  one 
of  great  importance,  particularly  by  introducing  finer  breeds  of  sheep ; 
'but  we  can  scarcely  expect  this,  from  what  we  know  of  the  habits,  agri- 
cultural and  commercial,  of  the  population.  Among  constant  political 
changes  wrought  by  the  only  Asiatic  argument — the  sword — the  personal 
habits  and  occupations  of  the  Asiatic  remain  ever  the  same,  and  are,  per- 
haps, the  best  type  of  persistency  to  be  found  in  anything  short  of  inv 
mobile  matter.  Indeed,  the  stony  features  of  the  Sphinx  have  changed 
scarcely  less  through  revolving  generations,  than  have  the  ethnic  ones  of 
this  great  family  of  the  human  race  ! 

Let  us  now  pass  to  those  regions  of  the  Old  "World,  south  of  the  Equa- 
.tor,  included  in  the  wool-growing  zone. 

The  southern  extremity  of  Africa — the  Cape  of  Good  Hope — is  included 

*  The  table-land  of  Thibet  Is  elevated  15.000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  Mr.  Ti-ail  remarks  tbat  every 
animal  here,  including  Carnivorn,  produce  that  down  under  their  hair  which  te  known  as  shavl  toool~ 
Ihough  that  manufactured  comes  mainly  from  a  »pecies  of  goat. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  119 

in  the  wool-growing  zone.  The  following  description  of  it  is  by  Rev- 
Robert  Moflfat,  for  twenty-three  years  a  resident  of  it  as  the  agent  of  the 
London  Missionary  Society  :* 

"  The  Colony  extends  from  west  to  east  about  six  hundred  miles,  its  average  breadth  being 

about  two  hundred Between  the  coast  and  the  vast  chain  of  mountains,  beyond  which 

lie  the  Karoo,  the  country  is  well  watered,  fertile  and  temperate.  The  other  portions  of 
the  Colony,  with  few  exceptions,  and  without  a  change  in  the  seasons,  appear  to  be  doomed 
to  perpetual  sterility  and  drouth.  The  Karoo  country,  which  is  in  the  background  of  the 
Colony,  is,  as  Lichstenstein  correctly  describes  it,  a  parched  and  arid  plain,  stretching  out  to 
such  an  extent  that  the  vast  hills  by  which  it  is  terminated,  or  rather  which  divide  it  from 
other  plains,  are  lost  in  the  distance.  The  beds  of  numberless  little  rivers,  (in  which 
water  is  rarely  to  be  found)  cross,  like  veins,  in  a  thousand  directions,  this  enormous  space. 
The  course  of  them  might,  in  some  places,  be  clearly  distinguished  by  the  dark  green  of  the 
mimosas  spreading  along  their  banks.  Excepting  these,  aslar  as  the  eye  can  reach,  no  tree 

or  shrub  is  visible But  even  on  these  hills  and  sunburnt  plains  thousands  of  sheep 

pasture  on  a  thin  sprinkling  of  verdure  and  esculents The  entire  country,  extending 

in  some  places  hundreds  of  miles  on  each  side  of  the  Orange  River,  and  from  where  it  empr 
ties  itself  in  the  Atlantic,  to  beyond  the  24th  degree  of  east  longitude,  appears  to  have  the 
curse  of  Gilboa  resting  upon  it.  It  is  rare  that  rains  to  any  extent  or  quantity  fall  in  those 
regions.  Extreme  drouth  continues  for  years  together.  The  fountains  are  exceedingly  few, 
precarious,  and  latterly  many  of  these  have  been  dried  up  altogether." 

According  to  Barrow,  nearly  seven-tenths  of  the  Colony  are  destitute 
of  vegetation  during  a  greater  part  of  the  year.  Sand  drives  before  the 
winds,  exercising  an  unfavorable  influence  on  sheep  and  wool.  Lions, 
tigers,  wolves,  hyenas,  jackals,  wild  dogs,  etc.,  are  numerous  on  the  very 
skirts  of  the  settlements,  making  much  vigilance  necessary  for  the  protec- 
tion of  the  sheep  ;  and  they  must  be  nightly  driven  into  the  settlements  to 
be  folded.  But  the  natives  have  proved  a  vastly  more  destructive  enemy 
than  these.t  The  sheep  introduced  by  the  English  colonists  will  probably 
eventually  considerably  increase  beyond  their  present  number  in  a  country 
of  so  great  extent,  but  we  are  scarcely  authorized  to  believe  that  the  Cape 
will  ever  take  a  high  rank  among  the  wool-producing  countries  of  the 
world. 

That  great  island,  or  continent,  known  as  New  South  Wales,  or  Aus-f 
tralia,  has  a  superficial  area  equaling  that  of  the  United  States.  But  a 
limited  portion  of  it,  however,  is  included  in  the  wool  zone.  All  of  Van 
Diemen's  Land,  or  Tasmania,  is  in  that  zone.  The  export  of  Wool  from 
these  countries,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  Table,J  reached  nearly  ten  million 
pounds  in  1840 — nearly  half  that  of  Germany,  including  Austria  and 
Prussia,  and  almost  eight  times  that  of  Spain !  Here,  as  at  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  there  are  no  woolen  manufactories,  and  being  Colonies  of 
England,  their  export  to  that  country  exhibits  their  whole  production. 

The  soil,  products,  &c.  of  Australia  are  thus  spoken  of  by  Mr.  McCul- 
loch:|| 

"  The  fertility  of  the  soil  in  most  parts  of  New-Holland  that  have  been  explored  with  any 
care,  is  very  far  indeed  from  corresponding  with  the  glowing  descriptions  of  some  of  its  casual 
visitors,  whose  imaginations  seem  to  have  been  dazzled  by  the  magnificence  of  its  botanical 
productions  and  the  clearness  and  beauty  of  the  climate.  The  truth  is  that  the  bad  land 
bears  a  much  greater  proportion  to  the  good  in  New-Holland  than  in  almost  any  other  coun- 
try with  which  we  are  acnuainted Of  course  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  but  that  in  a 

country  of  such  vast  extent  there  must  be  some  fertile  districts ;  but  along  the  east  coast,  with 
which  we  are  best  acquainted,  these  seem  to  be  much  more  confined  than  might  have  been 
expected ;  and  the  little  experience  we  have  had  on  the  west  side,  at  Swan  River  and  other 
places,  does  not  seem  to  lead  to  any  more  favorable  conclusions." 

After  stating  that  if  the  Government  price  of  lands  "  is  not  a  great  deal 

*  Missionary  Labors  and  Scenes  in  Southern  Africa,  pp.  23—24.  t  See  Letter  V.,  and  Note. 

J  Including  Port  Philip,  Swan  River,  and  Soutb  Australia,  the  export*  of  which  are  carried  out  separatehr 
61  Table  8. 
||  McCulloch's  Com.  Die.— Art.  Sydney. 


120  SI.fiEP  HUSBANDRY  I1N    THE  SOUTH. 

above  the  mark  in  New-Holland,  it  must  be  a  great  deal  below  it  in  Upper 
Canada,"  Professor  McCulloch  continues  : 

"If  the  Americans  exacted  the  same  price  for  their  public  lands  that  we  do,  something 
might  be  found  in  favor  of  extending  the  principle  to  Canada.  They,  however,  do  nothing 

cf  the  sort,  but  sell  much  better  land  at  a  decidedly  lower  rate If  slaves  could  be 

imported  into  a  Colony  of  this  sort,  there  might  be  some  chance  of  its  succeeding.  But  while 
laud  of  the  very  best  quality  may  be  had  in  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi  for  about  a  dollar  an 
acre  or  less,  we  think  better  of  the  common  sense  of  our  countrymen  than  to  suppose  that 
t»ny  one  able  to  carry  himself  across  the  Atlantic  will  resort  to  Australia." 

Of  the  climate  he  says  : 

"  The  climate  of  such  parts  of  New  South  Wales  as  have  been  explored  by  the  English  is 
particularly  mild  and  salubrious.  ....  On  the  other  hand,  however,  it  has  the  serious 
defect  of  being  too  dry.  It  seems  to  be  subject  to  the  periodical  recurrence  of  severe 
drouths.  These  prevail  sometimes  for  2,  3,  or  even  4  years  together.  The  last  *  great 
drouth'  began  in  182G,  and  did  not  terminate  until  1829.  Very  little  rain  fell  during  the 
whole  of  this  lengthened  period,  and  for  more  than  six  months  there  was  not  a  single  shower. 
In  consequence,  the  whole  surface  of  the  ground  was  so  parched  and  withered  that  all  minor 
vegetation  ceased ;  and  even  culinary  vegetables  were  raised  with  much  difficulty.  There 
was  also  a  pretty  severe  drouth  in  1835.  This  is  the  great  drawback  of  the  Colony ;  and  were 
it  more  populous  the  drouths  would  expose  it  to  still  more  serious  difficulties." 

Another  drouth  occurred  in  1841,  and  Mr.  Hood  thus  describes  its  ef- 
fects on  the  sheep  :  * 

"  It  will  be  scarcely  believed  in  England  that  the  estimated  number  of  sheep  which  have 
died  within  the  last  twelve  months  in  the  Colony  from  catarrh  and  drouth  is  70,000  .' !  that 
colonists  are  compelled  in  order  to  save  the  dam  from  starvation,  to  cut  the  throat  of  her 
lamb  ;  that  no  means  are  adopted  for  securing  a  stock  of  lambs  for  next  year ;  or  that  a 
stockholder  would  offer  8,000  sheep  to  any  one  that  would  remove  them  from  his  runs,  and 
finding  that  no  one  could  be  prevailed  upon  to  taint  his  own  flocks  by  accepting  so  danger- 
ous a  present,  had  recourse  to  consuming  them  by  fire,  and  had  actually  killed  and  burnt 
2,000."  .... 

Of  the  country  Mr.  Hood  remarks  : 

"  The  first  object  on  the  arrival  of  every  settler  should  be  to  procure  a  good  country  for 
his  flocks,  and  this,  I  have  elsewhere  said,  ia  his  grand  difficulty.  Let  him  be  wary  on  this 
point.  Almost  every  desirable  or  habitable  spol  in  the  old  countries,  as  the  early  settled 
districts  are  called,  is  already  occupied." 

Some  diseases  seem  to  be  peculiar  to  the  country,  or,  rather,  peculiarly 
inveterate  in  it.  Mr.  Youatt  says  :f 

"  The  sheep  frequently  suffer  from  the  wild  and  poachy  nature  of  a  considerable  portion 
of  the  pasture.  The  foot-rot  seems  to  assume  a  character  of  its  own.  ....  If  neglected,  it 
speedily  becomes  inveterate  and  preys  upon  and  destroys  the  animal.  The  losses  occasioned 
by  it  in  the  early  existence  of  the  Colony  were  frightful." 

The  astringency  of  the  water  and  other  causes  have  produced  severe 
epidemics.  In  some  years,  some  of  the  flockmasters  have  lost  half  of  their 
ftheep4  The  scab  is  a  prevailing  disease,  and  Doct.  Lang  says  :  || 

"  When  a  convict  shepherd  has  a  pique  against  his  master,  or  even  against  his  overseer,  it 
is  often  in  his  power  to  subject  the  whole  of  his  master's  flock  to  this  obnoxious  disease, 
merely  by  driving  his  own  flock  a  few  miles  from  their  usual  pasture,  and  bringing  them 
into  contact  with  a  diseased  flock.  The  chief  source  of  the  wealth  and  prosperity  of  th« 
Colony  is  thus,  in  a  great  measure,  at  the  mercy  of  the  most  worthless  of  men." 

The  cost  of  both  land  and  labor  is  comparatively  (id  est,  compared  with 
the  unoccupied  lands  of  the  United  States)  high.  The  Government  mini- 
mum is  5s.  ($1  15)  per  acre,  but  very  little  if  any  good  land  is  sold  at  that 
price.  Mr.  Hood  states  that  the  portion  of  Capt.  McArthur's  immense 
estate  which  was  obtained  by  purchase,  cost,  on  the  average,  7s.  6d. 
($1  72J)  per  acre.  Shepherds  receive  from  <£15  to  <£20  ($69  to  $92)  with 

*  Quoted  by  Spooner  in  "  History,  Diseases,  <fcc.,  of  the  Sheep."    London,  1844,  p.  67. 
t  Yountt  on  Sheep,  p.  189.  t  See  Spooaer,  pp.  417-42L 

ti  Lang— Historical  and  Statistical  Account,  vol.  i.,  p.  351. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  121 


a  house  and  rations,  per  annum  ;  overseers  of  a  superior  description  <£50 
to  ^€60  ($230  to  $276),*  also  with  a  house  and  rations.! 

The  sheep  are  exposed  to  the  depredations  of  various  animals,  but  the 
wild  dog  is  their  most  dangerous  enemy,  with  the  exception  of  the  run- 
away convict.  The  sheep  are  therefore  folded  nightly,  guarded  by  a 
watchman  with  his  dogs,  and  with  a  fire  to  scare  away  the  wild  beasts.} 
One  shepherd  usually  takes  care  of  about  300  sheep,  and  "  in  the  more 
sterile  parts  of  the  Colony,  where  three  acres  of 'the  uncultivated  ground  art 
scarcely  sufficient  for  the  support  of  one  sheep,  the  labor  is  very  severe."  J| 

Mr.  Samuel  Lawrence  recently  wrote  me  : 

"  I  saw  a  gentleman  from  England  a  few  months  since  who  has  an  admirable  flock  in 
New  South  Wales,  of  twenty-five  thousand  sheep,  and  he  assured  me  he  had  not  received  » 
penny  of  income  from  them  since  1838." 

Van  Diemen's  Land  (containing  28,000  square  miles)  is  claimed  by  Mr 
Youatt§  to  be  superior  in  several  respects  to  Australia  as  a  wool-growino 
country.  Table  8  does  not,  however,  show  that  its  exports  increase  any 
more  rapidly. 

Both  of  these  Islands,  as  colonies  of  Great  Britain,  send  their  wool  to 
the  latter  duty  free,  and  they  save  1  cent  per  pound  on  wool  costing  less 
than  24  cents,  and  2  cents  on  that  exceeding  tha*t  value.  But  this  by  no 
means  offsets  against  the  additional  cost  of  freight,  over  that  exported  from 
the  United  States,  Hungary,  or  the  south  of  Russia.  "While  it  is  only 
3,375  miles  from  New- York  to  London,  it  is  not  less  than  13,000  miles 
from  Sydney  or.  Hobart's  Town  to  the  latter  place.  Professor  McCulloch 
states  (art.  Sydney)  that  the  expense  of  conveying  a  passenger  to  Sydney 
is  about  three  times  that  of  conveying  one  to  Quebec.  I  see  no  reason 
why  a  corresponding  difference  should  not  exist  in  the  freights ;  and  in 
that  case,  freights  from  the  United  States  would  be  two-thirds  less  thau 
from  Australia. 

I  pretend,  Sir,  to  no  power  of  vaticination  on  this  subject,  but  the  con- 
clusions which  /draw  from  a  review  of  all  the  foregoing  facts  are  as  follows  : 

1.  That  wool-growing  is  never  likely  to  permanently  and  importantly^] 
increase  in  any  of  the  countries  of  Europe,  unless  it  be  in  Hungary,  Tur- 
key, and  the  south  of  Russia. 

2.  That  it  is  more  likely  to  decrease  than  increase  in  Great  Britain, 
France,  Portugal  and  Italy. 

3.  That  such  a  decrease  is  next  to  certain  in  Spain  and  Germany,  (in- 
cluding Prussia  and  Austria  in  the  latter,)  excepting  Hungary  and  Tran- 
sylvania ;  that  the  decrease  will  be  much  more  considerable  in  Germany  ; 
that  its  rapidity  and  extent  will  be  proportioned  to  the  rapidity  and  extent 
with  which  the  market  is  supplied  from  countries  which  can  grow  wool 
cheaper,  such  as  North  and  South  America,  Hungary,  Southern  Russia, 
and  Australia. 

4.  That  wool-growing  will  undoubtedly  largely  increase  in  Hungary  and 
Southern  Russia — and  that  it  ought  to  in  European  and  Asiatic  Turkey 
but  will  not,  extensively,  until  the  character  of  the  people  and  their  po 

itical  institutions  are  changed, 

5.  That  it  will  also  increase  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  Australia  and 
Van  Diemen's  Land  ;  but  that  its  economical  extension  in  either  of  these 
countries  is  limited,  especially  if  America  becomes  a  competitor. 

*  Calling  the  English  shillhlgSS  cents,  according  to  Report  of  Director  of  U.  S.  Mint,  1827. 

t  Report  of  a  Committee,  &c.,  quoted  by  Mr.  SfcCulloch — Com.  Die. ;  art  Sydney. 

t  Cunningham's  Two  Years  in  New  South  Wales,  vol.  i.,  p.  254. 

[|  Youatt  on  the  Sheep,  p.  188.  §  Quern  vide,  p.  190. 

1[  I  say  "importantly,"  because  Sweden,  Norway,  Denmark,  <fec.,  in  tffat  spirit  of  rendering  themselves  hi 
dependent  of  foreign  supplies,  which  characterizes  all  nations,  may,  and  probably  will  extend  their  wo*»i 
culture ;  but  it  will  be  too  unprofitable  a  struggle  against  Nature,  to  be  carried  to  a  very  great  extent. 


122          SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


6.  That  no  part  of  the  Eastern  Continent  or  its  islands,  all  things  con- 
sidered, possess  equal  advantages  for  wool-growing  with  some  parts  of 
the  United  States.  1.  The  climate  of  many  portions  of  the  latter  (in  the 
South)  is  not  excelled  by  that  of  the  most  favored  situations  in  Hungary 
or  Australia ;  and  in  this  respect  it  is  decidedly  superior  to  the  south  of 
Russia.  2.  The  soils  of  vast  sections  of  the  United  States,  with  the  above 
climate,  are  more  uniformly  fertile  and  adapted  to  pasturage  than  those  of 
either  Hungary  or  Southern  Russia — and,  as  a  whole,  are  entirely  supe- 
rior to  those  of  Australia.  3.  The  regions  alluded  to  in  the  United  States, 
are  better  watered  with  running  streams  than  either  of  the  other  named 
countries — have  not  the  vast  and  unhealthy  morasses  of  Hungary — and 
are  not  subject  to  the  destructive  drouths  of  Australia.  4.  The  land  is 
cheaper  in  the  United  States  than  in  Australia,  and  (my  impression  is) 
than  in  Hungary  or  Southern  Russia  ;  and,  in  the  Southern  States,  labor 
costs  ho  more  than  in  the  two  latter,  and  far  less  than  in  the  former.  5.  In 
accessibility  arid  nearness  even  to  the  great  European  wool  market,  the 
United  States  stand  on  equal  terms,  at  least,  with  Hungary  and  Southern 
Russia,  and  the  distance  from  Sydney  (in  Australia)  to  London  is  nearly 
four  times  the  distance  from  New- York  to  London.  6.  In  no  respect  do 
either  of  these  countries,'  the  most  favored  in  the  Old  World,  excel,  in  my 
judgment,  for  the  purposes  of  Sheep  Husbandry,  large  portions  of  the 
United  States  ;  and  I  believe  those  portions  of  the  United  States  can  sell 
wool  in  the  English  market  at  a  better  profit  on  all  the  capital  invested 
than  either  of  the  above  countries,  with  the  possible  exception  of  the  most 
favored  portions  of  Hungary. 

Our  surplus  wools  can,  therefore,  at  any  time,  be  exported  to  England 
at  a  reasonable  profit.  This  is  true,  even  of  wools  grown  in  the  Northern 
States.  In  1845,  the  United  States  exported  wool,  (mainly  to  England,)  to 
the  value  of  $22,153  ;  and  in  1846,  to  the  value  of  $203,996.  This  was  a 
commercial  experiment,  and  although  it  is  not  understood  to  have  resulted 
in  any  profit  to  the  exporters,  the  wool  sold  at  an  advance  on  the  Ameri- 
can prices  current— —and  would  have  sold  so  as  to  have  realized  a  handsome 
profit  to  the  exporters,,  had  it  been  properly  sorted  and  otherwise  prepared 
to  meet  the  requisitions  of  the  English  market.  Statements  of  this  kind 
have  been  published  by  one  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  exporters.  It 
would  seem,  from  Mr.  Lawrence's  statement,  already  quoted,  that  the 
prices  of  Australian  wools  have  not  yielded  a  profit  over  all  expenses, 
during  the  same  years.  The  quality  and  style  of  our  wool  have  been 
praised  by  the  English  press,  and  are  understood  to  have  given  high  satis- 
faction to  the  English  manufacturers.  On  the  whole,  then,  we  may  regard 
this  experiment  as  a  successful  one.  The  American  prices  current  of  those 
years  were  about  32  cents  per  pound.  We  have  seen  that  the  actual  cost 
of  wool  (including  all  expenses,  and  7  per  cent,  on  price  of  land  and  sheep) 
in  the  Northern  States  may  be  eet  down  at  about  27  cents  per  pound.* 
These  facts  show  that  a  remunerating  price  can  be  obtained  for  even  North- 
ern wool  in  England — if  a  profit  on  investment  considerably  exceeding 
the  highest  legal  rate  of  interest  (7  per  centum)  is  to  be  considered  "  re- 
munerating." And  if  this  is  true  of  the  Northern  wools  of  the  United 
States,  how  much  more  so  would  it  be  of  those  of  the  South,  the  first  cost 
of  which  has  been  estimated  at  less  than  one-third  that  of  the  former !  t 

I  see  not,  therefore,  a  shadow  of  a  reason  why  our  Southern  States 
might  not  embark,  at  once,  with  perfect  safety,  in  an  extensive  production 
of  wool,  if  they  had  only  the  foreign  market  to  look  to.  I  hesitate  not  to 

*  Bee  Letter  V.  t  Ib. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  123 

assert  that  they  could  drive  all  the  European  nations  from  the  market, 
with  the  two  or  three  exceptions  heretofore  specified ;  and  with  these,  as 
well  as  the  most  favored  Austro-Oriental  regions,  they  could  main- 
tain a  successful  competition.  The  same  remark  is  true  of  the  Austro- 
Occideiital  regions  of  our  own  continent.  And  it  is  difficult  to  foresee 
the  ultimate  extent  of  this  trans-Atlantic  demand  for  wool.  Vast  portions 
of  the  Old  World,  in  those  zones  where  wool  must  eventually  become  the 
principal  article  of  clothing,  are  but  just  stepping  within  the  verge  of 
civilization — just  laying  aside  the.  skins  and  peltry  of  the  pastoral  nomad 
and  the  savage  hunter,  for  garments  of  cloth.  In  1771,  England  imported 
1,829,772  Ibs.  of  wool ;  in  1840,  the  import  was  52,959,221  Ibs. !  In  1771, 
the  export  of  woolens  was  <£4,960,240.  In  1840,  the  export  of  woolens 
was,  <£5, 652,917,  and  of  woolen  and  worsted  yarn  ,£3,796,644.  Making 
all  necessary  allowance  for  the  difference  in  prices,  the  increase  in  the  ex- 
port bears  no  comparison  whatever  to  that  in  the  import.  What  seems  to 
be  the  unavoidable  conclusion]  It  is  that  the  consumption  of  a  population 
of  27,000,000  (the  population  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland)  has  thus  enor- 
mously swelled  within  the  period  of  sixty-nine  years  !  This  too  in  a  coun- 
try with  a  mild  climate — which  at  the  beginning  of  that  period  (1771)  was 
as  far  advanced  in  social  and  political  civilization',  and  the  mass  of  whose 
people  were  as  well  clothed  and  better  fed,  than  those  of  any  nation 
on  the  Eastern  Continent !  It  is  not  necessary  to  follow  up  this  idea. 
Progress  is  an  inseparable  condition  of  humanity,*  and  civilization  -is  its 
fruit.  With  the  latter,  new  wants — a  demand  for  greater  comforts  and 
luxuries — steadily  keep  pace  ;  and  with  these  again  keeps  pace  the  increase 
of  population.!  Both  the  latter  causes  conspire  to  swell  the  demand  for 
cloths ;  and  both  causes  are  at  work  in  this  Nineteenth  Century,  in  a  ve- 
locity of  ratio  which  would  fill  aMalthus  and  Ricardo  with  consternation— 
if,  indeed,  it  did  not  convince  them  of  the  fallacy  of  their  gloomy  theories, 
I  dare  to  predict  that  the  time  will  come  when  the  present  Russian  Em- 
pire will  consume  a  greater  amount  of  woolens  than  the  whole  Eastern 
Continent  now  does !  This  may  not  come  to  pass  in  a  day  or  a  century—- 
but unless  retarded  by  unnatural,  not  to  say  unusual  causes,  our  posterity 
in  the  third  or  fourth  remove  will  be  likely  to  witness  it !  Away,  then,  with 
those  fallacious  fears  of  over-production  of  cotton,  bread-stuffs,  etc. — the 
opposite  extreme  of  Malthusianism— -  which  have  disturbed  the  repose  of 
producers  who  are  riot  content  to  let  the  great  natural  currents  of  demand 
and  supply  regulate  each  other  ;  or  rather,  who  are  not  content  with  those 
fair  and  just  profits  which  they  would  receive  under  such  an  order  of 
things.  £ 

But  the  American  wool-grower  is  not  compelled  to  look  to  the  European 
market,  unless  he  enormously  increases  his  own  production — and  contin- 
ues to  increase  it  with  the  increase  of  the  population.  The  Census  of  1840 
shows  that  the  number  of  sheep  in  the  United  States,  in  1839,  was  nearly 
20,000,000.  These  have  been  steadily  increasing,  and  probably  now  greatly 
exceed  that  number.  Yet  these  have  never  supplied  the  demand  of  out 

*  This  may  not  be  thought  to  accord  with  preceding  statements  in  relation  to  the  unehangenbility  of 
Asiatic  character  and  customs.  Particular  families  or  races  of  mankind  have  always  advanced  slowly,  but 
the  course  of  the  world,  as  a  whole,  is  onward.  The  circle  of  civilization  widens,  and  races  which  coma 
In  contact  with  it,  receive  it,  or  are  conquered  and  absorbed  by  the  civilized  races. 

t  When  I  epeak  of  luxuries  promoting  the  increase  of  population,  I  do  not  use  the  word  in  its  invidious 
sense.  1  mean  by  it  those  things  which,  though  not.  strictly  speaking;,  necestarics,  tend  to  promote  human 
comfort. 

J  I  mean  this  remark  in  no  ultra  spirit  Governments  must  be  supported  and  resources  raised.  Inci- 
dental  protection  may  be  justly  afforded  to  the  products  of  agricultural  or  mechanical  skill,  under  certain 
circumstances.  But  the  fewer  of  these  restrictions  that  are  found  necessary,  the  more  rapidly,  as  a  genera] 
rule,  the  wealth  and  com  fort  of  mankind  and  nations  are  advanced. 


124 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


own  manufactories  alone.     The  following  Table*  will  show  th**  value 
the  imports  of  wool  into  the  U.  S.  from  1837  to  1847  : 


of 


TABLE  No.  9. 


Average  im- 
ports of  1837, 
1838  &  1839. 

Average  im- 
ports cf  1840, 
1841  <fe   1842. 

t  Import  of 
1843. 

Import  of 
1844. 

Import  of 
1845. 

Import  of 
18-16. 

Wool  not  costing 
to  exceed  7   cts. 
a  Ib     . 

£  $558,458 

$759,646 

$190,352 

$754,441 

$1,553,789 

$1,107,303 

Exc'ding7cts.alb. 

801.087 

1.004.312 

54.695 

97,019 

136,005 

26,921 

Total  

$1,359,545 

$1,763,958 

$245,047 

$851,460 

$1,689,794 

$1,134,226 

It  may  be  a  matter  of  interest  to  know  from  what  countries  these  wools 
were  imported.  The  following  Table  f  will  give  this  information  for  the 
last  fiscal  year,  (1846,)  and  will  also  give  a  general  idea  of  our  wool  trade 


TABLE  No.  10. 


WHENCE  IMPORTED. 

Wools  not  exceeding  7  cents 
per  pound. 

Wools  exceeding  7  cents 
ptr  pound. 

Quantity. 

Value. 

Quantity. 

Value. 

Pounds. 
955,163 
6,966 

10,774 
7,177 
1,188,800 
21,132 
207,006 
83,662 
8.694 
168,589 
84,799 
20,730 
81.156 
111,981 
5,744,328 
72,816 
425,148 
45.  215 
4,295,659 

Dollars. 
60.678 
330 

556 
248 
35,944 
1,382 
12,339 
6,810 
537 
9,543 
5,424 
1,425 
4,720 
8,151 
398,822 
4,554 
26,984 
3,083 
327,572 
130,837 
8,588 
58,778 

Pounds. 

13,820 
170 

1.407 

28,406 

522 
39,346 
39B 

43,831 
2,397 

Pounds. 

8,433 
93 

775 
6,668 

70 
4,562 
40 

eon 

269 

British  "Wost  Indies              .......... 

British  American  Colonies............ 

Italy                       

Brazil                            

Argentine  Republic        ........... 

Chili                                         

1,819,772 
122,686 
945,729 

Peru                       .         

Asia,  generally  

Total... 

16,427,952 

1,107,305 

130.295 

26.921 

That  the  course  of  trade  indicated  by  the  above  Table,  will,  as  has  been 
already  intimated,  be  materially  affected  by  the  New  Tariff,  I  think  there 
can  be  but  little  doubt.  That  of  several  of  the  places  enumerated,  too, 
has  been,  heretofore,  merely  a  transit  one. 

To  the  following  letter  from  the  most  extensive,  and  concededly  leading 
American  woolen  manufacturer,  I  would  call  your  particular  attention 
Several  of  its  declarations,  placed  in  italics,  by  me,  are  highly  significant 

LOWELL,  Mass.,  Feb.  10,  1847. 
llE>mr  S.  RANDAM.,  Esq.,  Cortland  Village,  N.  Y 

My  Dear  Sir :  Your  very  kind  and  interesting  favor  of  the  27th  ult.  duly  came  to  hand 
and  should,  if  praoticable,  have  received  an  earlier  reply.  The  business  of  wool-growing  in 
this  country  is  destined  to  be  of  immense  importance,  and  I  am  firm  in  the  belief  that  within 
twenty-Jive  years  we  shall  produce  a  greater  quantity  than  any  other  nation. 


*  Compiled  by  me  from  Reports  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

t  The  fiscal  year  1842  ended  on  the  30th  of  September.  Since  then,  the  returns  of  imports  and  export* 
have  been  made  up  to  the  30th  of  June.  This  year,  therefore,  embraces  the  imports  of  nine  months  only 
ending  on  June  30, 1843;  and  subsequent  years  end  30th  of  June,  1844,  1845,  and  so  on. 

t  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  1846. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


You  ask,  "  Is  the  present  home  demand  supplied  ?"  There  is  not  enough  annually  raised 
in  the  country  by  10,000,000  Ibs.  to  meet  the  demand  of  the  manufactories. 

You  ask,  "  What  countries  we  can  export  wool  to,  &c.  ?"  This  country  will  not  export 
wool  reguLirly  for  fifteen  years,  for  the  reason  that  the  consumption  will  increase  as^rapidlif 
as  the  production.  I  can  point  out  articles  made  of  wool  now  imported,  which  willrequirt 
thirty  millions  of  pounds  of  that  of  a  medium  and  fine  quality,  to  supply  the  consum^ 
tion 

The  business  of  manufacturing  wool  in  this  country  is  on  a  better  basis  than  ever  before, 
inasmuch  as  the  character,  skill  and  capital  engaged  in  it  are  such  that  FOREIGN  COMPETI- 
TION is  DEFIED.  A  very  few  years  and  all  articles  of  wool  used  here  will  be  of  home  manu- 
facture. 

Now  I  beg  of  you  to  keep  the  wool-growers  steady  to  the  mark.  Let  them  aim  to  excel 
m  the  blood  and  condition  of  their  flocks,  and  the  day  is  not  distant  when  they  will  be  amply 
remunerated.  I  shall  always  have  great  pleasure  in  hearing  from  you,  and  remain 

Yours  most  truly,    SAM.  LAWRENCE. 

Mr.  Lawrence  has  certainly  got  the  annual  deficit  of  home  wools  low 
enough.  Table  10  shows  that  it  was  upward  of  16,000,000  Ibs.  during  the 
last  fiscal  year,  1846.  This,  of  itself,  is  something  of  a  margin  for  the 
South,  or  some  other  new  domestic  producer,  to  fill ! 

Hitherto  we  have  simply  considered  the  amount  of  wool  necessary  to 
supply  our  manufactories.  But  these  establishments  fall  very  far  short  of 
working  up  all  the  wool  consumed  in  the  United  States,  even  exclusive  of 
home-made  fabrics.  The  following  Table*  will  show  the  value  of  the 
woolens  imported  for  twenty-five  years,  up  to  and  including  1845  : 

TABLE  No,  11. 


1821.  $7,437,737 
1822.  .12,185.904 
1823.  .  8,268,038 
1824.  .  8,386,597 
1825.  .11,392,264 

1826..  $8,431,974 
1827...  8,742,701 
1828...  8,679,505 
1829...  6,881,489 
1830...  5,776,396 

1831.  $12,627,229 
1832...  9.992,424 
1833...  13.262,509 
1834.  ..11,879,328 
1835.  ..17.834,424 

1836.  $21,080,003 
1837...  8,500,292 
1838.  ..11,512,920 
1839.  ..18,575,945 
1840...  9,071,184 

1841.  $11,001,939 
1842...  8,375,725 
1843...  2,472,154 
1844...  9,475,762 
1845.  ..10,666.176 

Here  is  another  and  still  broader  "margin"  for  both  the  American 
Wool- Grower  and  the  American  Manufacturer  to  fill ! 

With  a  country  well  adapted  to  the  production  of  wool  as  any  the  sun 
ehines  on — which,  all  things  considered,  can  produce  it  more  cheaply  than 
any  extended  portion  of  any  trans-Atlantic  country — shall  we  continue  to 
import  raw  wool  ] 

Whether  we  should  continue  to  import  woolens  is  sufficiently  answered 
by  the  last  paragraph  but  one  of  Mr.  Lawrence's  letter,  fully  sustained  as 
the  facts  therein  set  forth  are  by  those  infallible  tests — the  dividends  of  our 
manufacturing  establishments.  The  minimum  of  these,  in  well  managed 
establishments,  has  already  been  stated  to  be  about  ten  per  centum  pei 
annum,t  and  in  Mr.  Lawrence's  own  great  establishment  the  dividend  of 
1846  was  fifteen  per  cent.  Does  any  one  suppose  that  the  manufacturers 
of  England,  with  all  the  advantage  they  can  derive  from  cheaper  labor  | — 
(but  with  vastly  higher  prices  for  suitable  sites  and  buildings — land  taxes, 
parochial  taxes,  income  taxes — freights  and  duties  on  imported  wools, 
etc.  etc.) — do  or  can  make  dividends  touching  even  the  lowest  rate  above 
stated  ]  They  cannot.  \\ 

*  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  1845.  f  See  Letter  VII. 

$  Though  not  directly  advised  on  the  point,  I  take  it  for  granted  that  the  cost  of  machinery,  also,  IB  some- 
what less  in  Englnnd. 

|j  It  may  be  Said  that  the  two  last-named  expenses  fall  on  the  consumer.  They  doubtless  would,  but  the 
English  manufacturer  has  to  compete  with  those  of  France  and  the  United  States,  a  much  larger  propor- 
tion of  whose  stock  is  of  home  growth— the  latter  entirely,  in  fine  fabrics.  The  abrogation  of  the  Corn-Law* 
Will  be  of  immense  advantage  to  the  English  manufacturer,  and  enable  him  to  better  compete  with  other 
countries.  But  while  the  Bank  of  England  ordinarily  discounts  paper  at  from  3  to  4  per  cent.,  and  while 
this  is  the  common  rate  of  interest  in  that  country,  it  could  not  be  expected  that  manufacturing  capital 
would  be  allowed  to  draw  8  or  10,  and  much  less  15  per  cent.  Such  dividends,  in  a  country  whose 
uninvested  capital,  or  that  drawing  so  low  a  rate  of  interest,  is  so  superabundant,  would  at  once  invite  a 
competition  which  would  speedily  bring  the  profits  of  manufacturing  capital  down  to  a  tevel  with  those  of 
•cicr  commercial  capita]  We  may,  therefore  conclude  that  uc  such  dividends  are  made. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  S.  UTH. 


Is  it  said  that  our  manufacturing  companies  have  often  been  com- 
pelled to  suspend,  or  break  up,  even  under  laws  as  favorable  to  them  aa 
those  now  in  operation  1  The  reason  for  this  is  too  pointedly  and  perti- 
nently* stated  by  Mr.  Lawrence  to  require  any  addition  at  my  hands,  in 
the  following  extract  from  a  letter  to  me,  bearing  date  April  13,  1847;  and 
it  will  be  seen  in  the  concluding  sentence  that  the  bold  and  man.y  decla- 
rations of  his  preceding  letter  were  not  the  result  of  a  casual  or  momentary 
confidence,  but  are  deliberately  reasserted  : 

"  The  manufacture  of  wool  has  often  been  disastrous  to  parties  who  have  embarked  in  it 
for  many  reasons,  two  of  which  are  sufficient  —  a  want  of  capital  and  a  want  of  skill.  These 
difficulties  are  being  obviated.  Capitalists  are  more  ready  to  embark  under  certain  auspices, 
and  the  amount  of  skill  is  very  fast  increasing,  so  that  this  branch  is  on  a  footing  not  to  be 
moved.11 

Undisturbed  by  those  changes  of  vacillating  legislation,  or  those  move- 
ments in  the  National  Legislature  pointing  to  such  changes  —  at  one  time 
enormously  pampering  the  manufacturing  interest,  and  leading  to  over- 
action  and  rash  adventure  —  at  another,  threatening  it  with  disaster  and 
utter  subversion  —  our  manufacturers  will  steadily,,  nay,  rapidly  advance. 
If  NOW  LET  ALONE,  they  will  soon  not  only  "  defy  foreign  competition"  in 
the  home  market,  but  there  is  not  a  single  good  reason  to  prevent  them 
from  defying  it  in  the  great  and  opening  market  of  South  America,  and 
even  in  the  Old  World.  Some  evils  or  errors  in  commercial  legislation 
are  less  to  be  deprecated  than  constant  changes.  The  present  Tariff,  so 
far  as  it  affects  wool  and  woolens,  is  the  result  of  a  compromise  of  inter- 
ests. It  may  not  be  perfect  in  principle  or  detail.  But  it  does  not  seem 
to  flagrantly  favor  or  oppress  any  interest.  I  speak  not  in  the  spirit  of  a 
politician,  or  of  the  representative  of  an  interest  or  section,  when  I  express 
the  hope  that  no  change  will  be  made  or  attempted  in  this  portion  of  the 
Tariff,  until  the  lapse  of  years  shall  bring  about  other  changes  requiring 
it,  or  until  ample  experience  shall  clearly  call  for  a  revision  of  the  system. 

I  have  spoken  of  two  "margins"  to  be  filled  by  the  American  wool- 
grower  —  the  present  deficit  in  supplying  our  own  manufactories,  and  sec- 
ondly, the  prospective  one,  as  our  manufactures.  increase,  so  as  to  overtake 
and  then  keep  pace  with  the  consumption  of  an  increasing  population. 
The  demands  of  our  manufactories  will  advance  pari  passu  with  the  pro 
duction,  Mr.  Lawrence  predicts,  for  at  least  fifteen  years.  Why  not  foi 
fifty,  or  a  hundred!  Let  us  glance  at  the  prospective  consumption,  and  see 
if,  independent  of  exportations,  it  is  likely  to  require  any  curbs  or  limits  to 
be  placed  on  production  or  manufacture. 

In  the  debates  in  Congress  on  the  Tariff  in  1828-9,  Mr.  Mallary  esti 
mated  the  consumption  of  woolens  in  our  country  at  $72,000,000  per 
ann.  .  —  $10,000,000  imported  ;  $22,000,000  manufactured  ;  $40,000,000 
home-made.  The  Committee  of  the  "  Friends  of  Domestic  Industry," 
who  met  in  New-  York  in  1831,  reported  that  the  proportion  between  the 
amount  of  wool  worked  up  in  factories  to  that  in  families  was  as  3  to  2  ; 
that  the  entire  annual  product  of  wool  and  its  manufactures  in  the  U.  S. 
was  $40,000,000.  These  are  the  only  accessible  published  estimates  which 
now  occur  to  we* 

The  Census  of  J840  shows  that  the  value  of  woolens  made  in  our  iranu- 
factories  in  1839,  was  $20,696,999.  The  import  of  foreign  woolens  the 
same  year  v/as  $18,57d,945,  and  of  raw  wool*  $1,359,445.  It  should  be 
remarked  fcov/ever,  that  the  import  of  woolens  is  considerably  higher  than 
thaX  cf  v,y  year  before  or  since.  Taking  the  average  of  the  same  three 

*  C«k»»$  the  average  product  of  1837-8-9,  as  in  Table  9.    The  separate  import  of  1839  is  not  before  ma.  , 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  127 


years  tor  which  the  import  of  the  raw  wool  is  given,*  (1837-8-9,)  it  would 
reach  but  $12,863,051.  If  we  suppose  the  consumption  to  equal  the  sup- 
ply, this  would  give  $33,560,050  as  the  value  of 'the  factory-made  woolena 
consumed  in  the  United  States  in  1839.  I  confess  I  have  no  data  other  than 
conjectural  ones,  to  determine  the  amount  of  the  home-made  manufactures 
for  that  or  any  other  year  ;  nor  do  I  know  that  any  other  person  has,  or  can, 
bave  such  information.  The  United  States  Census,  singularly  enough 
does  not  include  this  as  a  separate  item.  It  strikes  me,  however,  that  Mr 
Mallary's  estimate  is  too  high,  and  that  of  the  Report  of  the  "  Friends  of 
Domestic  Industry  "  too  low.  T.he  proportion  of  home-made  to  factory 
woolens  is,  no  doubt,  annually  decreasing,  for  reasons  already  stated  ;t  but 
as  far  back  as  1839,  it  would  perhaps  be  a  fair  estimate  to  set  them  down 
as  even.  This  would  give  $67,120,100  as  the  value  of  the  woolens  con- 
sumed by  a  population  of  17,069,453,  or  nearly  $4  per  head.  Allowing 
that  every  dollar  in  the  manufactured  article  would  represent  one  pound 
of  stock,  or  raw  wool — and  taking  slave-cloths,  blankets,  carpets,  coarse 
home-made  fabrics,  factory  plains,  etc.,  all  into  account,  a  dollar  is  an  am 
pie  sum  to  offset  against  every  pound  of  the  raw  material — it  follows  lha-t 
our  whole  population  annually  consume  four  pounds  of  wool  per  head. 
Judge  Beatty  of  Kentucky,  in  an  estimate  published  originally  in  the 
American  Agriculturist,  which  has  been  much  quoted,  sets  down  the  con- 
sumption as  about  6  Ibs.  per  head.  An  ordinary  Northern  farmer  or  la- 
borer, in  comfortable  circumstances,  will  consume  about  20  Ibs.  per  an- 
num ;|  the  poorer  one  not  far  from  15  Ibs. ;  a"  boy  of  8  years  old,  full  4  Ibs.  j 
a  girl  of  that  age  (in  the  country,  where  females  are  dressed  in  woolens,) 
something  more  than  half  of  that  amount.  In  the  cities  and  villages  there  is 
a  large  class  whose  consumption  for  dress  ranges  from  30  to  40  and  even  50 
Ibs.,  and,  including  carpets,  much  more.  A  Southern  slave 'consumes  from 
8  to  10  Ibs.  Four  pounds,  therefore,  would  not  seem  to  be  a  high  es- 
timate, per  head,  for  our  whole  population. 

Let  us  now  take  a  glance  at  the  increase  of  population  in  the  United 
States.     The  six  different  Censuses  give  the  following  results  : 

TABLE  12. 


1790,  Population 3,929,827 

180.0, 5,305,941 

1810,  7.239,814 


1820,  Population 9,638,191 

1830 ....12,806,020 

1840 17,069,453 


It  will  thus  be  seen  that  our  population  increases  at  a  compound  ratio 
of  about  three  per  cent,  per  annum,  which  would  double  it — assuming 
three  per  cent,  to  be  the  precise  rate  of  increase — in  23  years  164  days. 

Cheap  and  abundant  provisions — a  supply  of  fertile  lands  for  all  who 
choose  to  occupy  them,  &c. — the  causes  which  have  conspired  to  give  so 
Tapid  an  increase,  hitherto,  still  operate  to  as  great  an  extent  as  ever,  and 
will  continue  to,  at  all  events,  for  half  a  century,  after  the  Census  of  1840. 
Suppose  the  rate  of  increase,  then,  decreases  to  two  per  cent.,  which  would 
double  the  population,  reckoning  as  before,  once  in  about  38  years,  and 

*  In  Table  9.  t  Letter  VII. 

JHe  will  wear  out,  during  a  year,  1  coat,  4  yards ;  1  pair  pants,  3  yards;  1  vest,  1  yard;  1  pair  flannel 
drawer?,  2  yards ;  1  flannel  shirt,  2i  yards  ;  4  pair  hose,  mittens,  &c  ,  1J  fbs.,  which,  calling  a  yard  a  pound 
of  wool,  al!  V-iind,  would  amount  to  14  Ibs.  His  extra  or  holiday  suit.  8  yards,  will  last  3  yearn,  and  hia 
overcoat,  '6  yards,  4  years— making  the  annual  consumption  of  both,  3  1-6  yards.  Two  flannel  shirts,  10 
yards,  will  last  two  persons  say  3  years,  making  the  annual  consumption  of  one,  1  1-9  ynrds.  No  account  is 
here  made  of  coverlids,  wool  hats,  carpets,  still  used  by  many,  and  the  latter,  more  or  less  of  it,  to  be  found  in 
the  houses  of  m-ar'y  &11  farmers  in  •'  comfortable  circumstances."  It  will  be  seen  that  20  Ihs.  of  wool  per 
head  is  *  mnder*Uv  estimate.  The  above  enumeration  would  not  equal  to  exceed  two-thirds,  and  in  some 
cases  tialf  the  clothing  annually  consumed  by  the  smartly  dressing  young  men  who  have  labored,  on  mj 
(arm! 


128 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  LN  THE  SOUTH. 


that  it  doubles  twice  at  this  rate — and  the  following  would  be  the  result, 
and  the  amount  of  wool  required  by  the  population  at  the  periods  indicated: 

TABLE  No.  13. 


Year. 

Population. 

Amount  of  Wool. 

Year. 

Population. 

Amount  of  Wool. 

1863-4  

34,138,906 

136,555,624 

1925  

136,555,624 

546,222,496 

1886-7  

68,277,812 

273,111.248 

1963  

273.111.248 

1,092,444,992 

Thus  in  a  little  over  one  hundred  years,  our  population  is  likely  to  ex- 
ceed the  present  one  of  Europe,  (which  is  233,500;000,)  and  we  have  now  a 
sufficient  territory  to  sustain  it !  At  3  Ibs.  of  wool  per  head  the  number 
of  sheep  requisite  to  supply  the  home  demand  in  1963,  would  be  over 
364,000,000  ! — far  more  than  are  now  to  be  found  on  the  whole  globe  !— 
Such  are  some  of  the  reasonable  expectations  which  may  be  formed  of  the 
future  prospects  of  the  Home 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH,  129 


LETTER    X. 

BREEDS  OF  SHEEP  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

Enumeration  of  Imported  Breeds...  No  indigenous  ones..."  Native  "  Sheep — their  Origin — Views  of  Mr 
Youatt — Mr.  Livingston — their  true  Origin— their  Early  Increase  in  New-England..  Vandf-rdonk's  description 
of  the  Sheep  and  their  increase  introduced  from  Holland  into  New-Netherland  (New- York)...  Character- 
istica  of  the  Native  Sheep...  Account  of  the  Introduction  of  Merinos  into  the  United  States...  Their  valua- 
tion at  different  periods...  The  Spanish  sub-varieties — Merged  in  the  United  States...  Purity  of  blood  of  th« 
descendHnts  of  the  Early  Importations ...  Spurious  Merinos...  Weight  of  Fleece  of  the  Spanish  and  French 
(Rambouillet)  families.  ..Description  of  the  latter...  American  Fumilies — their  Characte  mics..  Doctor  Em- 
mons's  Measurements  of  the  Fineness  of  Wool  of  individuals  of  the  American,  Spanish,  and  French  families 
— also  of  other  breedti.. The  Characteristics  of  the  Merino — its  Crosses.  ..The  Saxon  Sheep— its  Origin — 
Varieties — Treatment  in  Germany.  ..Introduction  into  the  United  States...  Purity  of  blood  in  our  present 
flocks— Weight  of  Fleece— Characteristics... The  New  Leicester  or  "  Bakewell"— Origin— Character  in 
Kn&Iand — Introduction  into  the  United  States — Valuation  in  the  latter — Characteristics... South-Down 
Sheep — Origin — Characteristics — Introduction  into  the  United  States..  Mr  Ellman's  description  of  a  perfect 
animal.  .Cotswold  Sheep — Original  Stock — Crossed— the  improved  variety— Characteristics  of— Introduction 
into  the  United  States.. Cheviot  Sheep — Importation  into  the  United  States — Original  Stock— Crossed — 
Improved  variety — Characteristics... Broad-Tailed  Sheep — Introduction  into  our  Country— Characteristics, 

Dear  Sir  :  It  is  believed  by  those  competent  to  judge,  and  who  have 
investigated  the  subject,  that  our  country  now  possesses  every  known  breed 
of  sheep  which  could  be  of  particular  benefit  to  its  husbandry.  In  pro- 
ceeding to  give  an  account  of  the  sheep  of  the  United  States,  I  do  not 
deem  it  necessary  to  take  up  your  time  with  a  detailed  history  of  each 
race.  The  zoologist  or  breeder  anxious  to  obtain  this  information,  will 
find  it  given  with  great  elaboration  and  accuracy,  in  the  admirable  work 
on  Sheep  by  the  late  Mr.  Youatt.* 

The  principal  breeds  in  the  United  States  are  the  "  Native,"  (so  called) ; 
the  Spanish  and  Saxon  Merinos,  introduced  from  the  countries  whose 
names  they  bear ;  the  New  Leicester  or  Bakewell,  the  South-Down,  the 
Cotswold,  the  Cheviot,  and  the  Lincoln  from  England.  The  common 
sheep  of  Holland  were  early  imported  by  the  Dutch  emigrants  who  origi- 
nally colonized  New-York,  but  have  long  since  ceased  to  exist  as  a  dis- 
tinct variety.  The  Broad-Tailed  Sheep  of  Asia  and  Africa  have  several 
times  been  introduced  from  Persia,  Tunis,  Asia  Minor,  etc. 

Chancellor  Livingston  also  speaks  of  two  "  races  as  'indigenous  '  to  this 
country,  which  we  have  not  enumerated,  as  it  is  not  known  to  the  Com- 
mittee t  that  they  are  now  bred  in  any  portion  of  the  United  States, 
viz.,  the  Otter  and  Smith's  Island  Sheep,  breeds  said  to  have  been  discov- 
ered on  two  islands  on  our  Atlantic  coast.  An  almost  infinite  variety  of 
crosses  have  taken  place  between  the  Spanish,  English,  and  *  native  '  fami- 
lies. To  so  great  an  extent,  indeed,  has  this  been  carried,  that  there  are, 

*  Also  in  Mr.  Bischoffs,  Spooner's,  etc.,  (English)  works,  and  Mr.  Morrel'a  "American  Shepherd  "—the 
historical  parts  of  all  of  which  are  compiled  mainly  from  Mr.  Youatt 

t  At  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  New-York  State  Agricultural  Society,  1837,  a  Committee  was  appointed  to 
report  at  the  next  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Society,  on  the  '•  Condition  ajj-J  Comparative  Value  of  the  Several 
Breeds  of  Sheep  in  the  United  States."  The  Committee  consisted  ol  Henry  S.  Randall  of  Cortland,  Henry 
I).  Grove  of  Rensselaer,  John  B.  Duane  of  Schenectady,  Francis  Rotch  of  Otsego.  and  C.  N  Bement  of  Alba- 
ny. These  gentlemen  were  at  the  time  breeders  of  all  or  nearly  all  the  most  important  varieties',  and  it  was 
expected  that  each  would  write  that  portion  of  the  Report  treating  of  the  one  or  ones  bred  by  himself  The 
Committee,  however,  desired — or  rather  required  me  to  write  the  whc  Je  Report,  which  I  did,  with  the 
exception  of  quotations  from  authors.  The  Committee  met  in  Albany,  prior  to  the  presentation  of  the  Re- 
port, and  the  late  Thomas  Dunn  and  several  other  breeders  were  present  by  invitation.  The  Report  was 
unanimously  adopted  by  the  Committee,  and  assented  to  by  the  breeders  present  I  do  not  now  quote  or 
adopt  all  the  conclusions  of  that  Report  Experience  has  compelled  me  to  modify  some  of  my  opinions, 
and  actual  changes  in  the  breeds  have  taken  place  But  I  have  mentioned  the  above  facts,  to  show  the  au- 
thority on  which  the  statements  which  I  have  quoted,  rest ;  and  also  because  the  Report  ha*  been  often 
quoted  from,  sometimes  without  any  credit,  and  sometimes  erroneously  credited. 

[To  save  constant  reference,  it  will  he  understood  that  all  the  matter  quoted  in  this  Letter  from  the  Re- 
port will,  unlike  the  cases  where  Mr.  Randall  quotes  at  any  length  from  the  writings  of  others,  be  printed 
m  the  same  type  with  the  body  of  the  Letter,  and  simply  marked  with  quotation  point*.  Publisher.) 

K 


130  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

comparatively  speaking,  few  flocks  in  the  United  States  that  preserve  en- 
tire the  distinctive  characteristics  of  any  one  breed,  or  that  can  lay  claim  tc 
unmixed  purity  of  blood." 

NATIVE  SHEEP. — "  Although  this  name  is  popularly  applied  to  the  com- 
mon coarse-wooled  sheep  of  the  country,  which  existed  here  previously 
to  the  importation  of  the  improved  breeds,  there  is,  properly  speaking,  no 
race  of  sheep  '  native '  to  North  America.  Mr.  Livingston,  in  speaking 
of  a  race  as  '  indigenous,'  only  quoted  the  language  of  another,*  and  his 
informant  was  either  mistaken  as  to  the  fact,  or  misapprehended  the  term. 
The  only  animal  of  the  genus  Ovis  Aries,  originally  inhabiting  this  coun- 
try, is  the  Argali,t  known  to  our  enterprising  travelers  and  traders  who 
have  penetrated  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  where  the  animal  is  found,  as 
the  Big  Horn.f  Though  the  pelage  of  the  Argali  approximates  but  little 
to  the  wool  of  the  domestic  sheep,  they  are,  as  is  well  known,  considered 
by  naturalists  to  have  belonged  originally  to  the  same  species  ;  and  the 
changes  which  have  taken  place  in  the  form,  covering,  and  habits  of  the 
latter,  are  attributed  to  his  domestication,  and  the  care  and  skill  of  Man 
during  a  long  succession  of  years. 

"  The  common  sheep  of  the  United  States  were  of  foreign  and  mostly  of 
English  origin.  The  writer  of  the  volume  on  Sheep  in  the  '  Farmer's  Se- 
ries,' [Mr.  Youatt,]  speaks  of  them  as  '  although  somewhat  differing  in  va- 
rious districts,  consisting  chiefly  of  a  coarse  kind  of  Leicester,  originally 
of-  British  breed.'||  Others  have  seen,  or  fancied  they  saw,  in  some  of 
them,  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  South-Downs.  Mr.  Livingston  was  of 
this  number.§  But  it  is  far  more  probable  that  they  can  claim  a  common 
descent  from  no  one  stock.  Our  ancestors  emigrated  from  different  sec- 
tions of  the  British  Dominions,  and  some  portion  of  them  from  other  parts 
of  Europe.  They  brought  their  implements  of  husbandry,  and  their  do- 
mestic animals,  to  fertilize  the  wilderness.  Each,  it  would  be  natural  to 
suppose,  made  choice  of  the  favorite  breed  of  his  own  immediate  district 
to  transport  to  the  New  World,  and  the  admixture  of  these  various  races 
formed  the  mongrel  family  now  under  consideration.  Amid  the  perils  of 
war,  and  the  incursion  of  beasts  of  prey,  they  were  preserved  with  sedu- 
lous care.  As  early  as  1676,  Mr.  Edward  Randolph,  in  a  *  Narrative  to 
the  Lords  of  the  Privy  Seal,'  speaks  of  New-England  as  'abounding  with 
sheep.'  "U 

Vanderdonk,  writing  in  1790,  thus  speaks  of  the  sheep  introduced  from 
Holland  into  New-Netherland  (now  New-York)  by  the  Dutch  emi- 
grants : — 

"  Sheep  are  also  kepi  in  the  New-Netherlands,  but  not  as  many  as  in  New-England,  where 
the  weaving  business  is  earned  on,  'and  where  much  more  attention  is  paid  to  them  than  by 
the  New-Netherlauders.  The  sheep,  however,  thrive  well,  and  become  fat  enough.  I  have 
seen  mutton  there  so  exceedingly  fat  that  it  was  too  luscious  and  offensive.  The  sheep  breed 
well  and  are  healthy  ;  they  find  good  pasture  in  summer,  and  good  hay  in  winter ;  but  the 
flocks  require  to  be  guarded  and  tended  on  account  of  the  wolves,  for  which  purpose  men 
cannot  be  spared.  There  is  also  a  more  important  hindrance  to  the  keeping  of  sheep,  which 
are  chiefly  cultivated  for  their  wool.  New-Netherland  is  a  woody  country  throughout,  being 
almost  everywhere  beset  with  trees,  stumps  and  brushwood,  wherein  the  sheep  pasture, 
and  by  which  they  lose  most  of  their  wool.  This  is  not  apparent  until  they  are  sheared, 
wnen  the  fleeces  turn  out  very  light." 

"  The  common  sheep  yielded  a  wool  only  suited  to  the  coarsest  fabrics, 
averaging,  in  the  hands  of  good  farmers,  from  3  to  3  J  Ibs  of  wool  to  the 

-  Livingston's  Essay  on  Sheep,  pp.  50,  GO.  t  Godmnn's  American  Natural  History. 

t  The  "  wc>"ly  sheep  "  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  description  of  which  is  quoted  by  Mr  Morrel,  (Ameri- 
can Khepherd,  p  131,)  from  C«pt.  Bonneville,  is  &  goat.  It  will  be  found  described  in  Godman'a  Natural 
History  vol  ii.  p.  326,  et  evpra. 

i  Vol'.  on  Sheep  p.  134.  §  Essay  on  Sheep,  p.  53.  fl  Colonial  paj»er8  of  Massachusetts 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


131 


fleece.  They  were  slow  in  arriving  at  maturity,  compared  with  the  im- 
proved English  breeds,  and  yielded  when  fully  grown, 'from  10  to  14  Ibs 
of  a  middling  quality  of  mutton  to  the  quarter.  They  were  usually  long- 
legged,  light  in  the  fore-quarter,  and  narrow  on  the  breast  and  back,  al- 
though some  rare  instances  might  be  found  of  flocks  with  the  short  legs, 
and  some  approximation  to  the  general  form  of  the  improved  breeds.  The 
common  sheep  were  excellent  breeders,  often  rearing,  almost  entirely  des- 
titute of  care,  and  without  shelter,  one  hundred  per  cent,  of  lambs,  and  it 
small  fl  }cks  a  still  larger  proportion.  These,  too,  were  usually  dropped  ic 
March  3r  the  earlier  part  of  April.  Restless  in  their  disposition,  their  impa- 
tience of  restraint  almost  equaled  that  of  the  untamed  Argali,  from  which 
they  were  descended  ;  and  in  many  sections  of  our  country  it  was  common 
to  see  from  twenty  to  fifty  of  them  roving,  with  little  regard  to  inclosurer*, 
over  the  possessions  of  their  owner  and  his  neighbors,  leaving  a  large  por- 
tion of  their  wool  adhering  to  bushes  and  thorns,  and  the  remainder  placed 
learly  beyond  the  possibility  of  carding  by  the  Tory  weed  ( Cynoglossum 
vfficinale)  and  Burdock  (Arctium  lappa)  so  common  on  new  lands. 

"  The  old  common  stock  of  sheep,  as  a  distinct  family,  have  nearly  disap- 
peared, having  been  universally  crossed,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  with 
the  foreign  breeds  of  later  introduction.  The  first  and  second  cross  wi^h 
the  Merino,  resulted  in  a  decided  improvement,  and  produced  a  variety 
exceedingly  valuable  for  the  farmer  who  rears  wool  only  for  domestic  pur- 
poses. The  fleeces  are  of  uneven  fineness,  being  hairy  on  the  thighs,  dew- 
lap, &c. ;  but  the  general  quality  is  much  improved  ;  the  quantity  is  con- 
siderably augmented  ;  the  carcass  is  more  compact  and  nearer  the  ground  ;: 
and  they  have  lost  their  unquiet  and  roving  propensities.  The  cross  with  the- 
fcraxon,  for  reasons  which  we  shall  hereafter  allude  to,  has  not  been  generally? 
so  successful.  With  the  Leicester  and  Downs  the  improvement,  so  far  a» 
form,  size,  and  a  propensity  to  take  on  fat  are  concerned,  is  manifest." 


MERINO  HAM. 

{Defiance.    I    months  old,  bred  bj-  and  the  property  of  HVnry  S.  Randall.) 


132  SHEEP    HUSBANDRY  IN  THE   SOUTH. 


SPANISH  MERINO. — "  The  history  of  this  celebrated  race  of  sheep,  so  far 
as  it  is  known,  has  so  often  been  brought  before  the  public  that  it  is  deemed 
unnecessary  here  to  recapitulate  it.  The  first  importation  of  them  into 
the  United  States  took  place  in  1S01.  Four  were  shipped  by  Mr. 

Delessert,  a  banker  of  Paris,  three  of  which  perished  on  the  passage.* 
The  fourth  arrived  in  safety  at  Rosendale,  a  farm  owned  by  that  gentle- 
man near  Kingston,  in  this  State.  The  same  year  Mr.  Seth  Adams,  of 
Massachusetts,  imported  a  pair  from  France.  In  1802,  two  pairs  were 
sent  from  France  by  Mr.  Livingston,  the  American  Minister,  to  his  estate 
on  the  Hudson  ;  and  later  the  same  year,  Mr.  Humphrys,  our  Spanish 
Minister,  shipped  two  hundred,  on  his  departure  from  that  country,  for  the 
United  States."  Hon.  William  Jarvis,  of  Weathersfield,  Vermont,  then 
American  Consul  at  Lisbon,  sent  home  large  and  valuable  flocks  in  1809, 
1810,  and  1811.  The  particularly  favorable  circumstances  for  obtaining 
the  choicest  sheep  of  Spain,  under  which  these  were  procured,  you  will 
find  detailed  in  a  letter  tome  from  Mr.  Jarvis,  dated  December,  1841,  pub- 
lished in  the  Transactions  of  the  New- York  State  Agricultural  Society  of 
that  year.  Various  subsequent  importations  took  place,  which  it  is  not 
important  to  particularize. 

.  The  Merinos  "attracted  little  nptice,  until  our  difficulties  with  England  led 
to  a  cessation  of  commercial  intercourse  with  that  power,  in  1808  and  1809. 
The  attention  of  the  country  being  then  directed  toward  manufacturing 
and  wool-growing,  the  Merino  rose  into  importance.  So  great,  indeed, 
was  the  interest  excited,  that  from  a  thousand  to  fourteen  hundred  dollars  n 
head  was  paid  for  them."  Unfortunately  some  of  the  later  importations  "  ar- 
rived in  the  worst  condition,  bringing  with  them  those  scourges  of  tho 
ovine  race,  the  scab  and  foot-rot.  These  evils  and  the  increased  supply, 
soon  brought  them  down  to  less  than  a  twentieth  part  of  their  former 
price  ;  they  could  now  be  bought  for  $20  a  head.  When,  however,  it  was 
established,  by  actual  experiment,  that  their  wool  did  not  deteriorate,  as 
had  been  feared  by  many,  in  this  country,  and  that  they  became  readily 
acclimated,  they  again  rose  into  favor.  But  the  prostration  of  our  manu- 
factories, which  soon  after  ensued,  rendered  the  Merino  comparatively  of 
little  value,  and  brought  ruin  to  numbers  who  had  purchased  them  at  their 
previous  high  prices.  The  rise  which  has  since  taken  place  in  the  value 
of  fine  wool,  as  well  as  the  causes  which  led  to  it,  are  too  recent  and  well 
understood  to  require  particular  notice.  With  the  rise  of  wool,  the  valua- 
tion of  the  sheep  which  bear  it,  has  of  course  kept  pace. 

"  The  Merino  has  been  variously  described.  This  arises  from  the  fact 
that  it  is  but  the  general  appellation  of  a  breed,  comprising  several  varie- 
ties, presenting  essential  points  of  difference  in  size,  form,  quality  and 
quantity  of  wool."  And  writers  of  high  authority  differ  even  in  their 
descriptions  of  these  families  or  varieties.  M.  Lasteyrie,  so  celebrated  as 
a  writer  on  sheep,  and  particularly  on  the  Merino,  and  Mr.  Jarvis  directly 
contradict  each  other  on  several  points.!  It  is  scarcely  necessary  now 
to  quote  their  conflicting  statements,  or  inquire  which  is  right — as  the  ques- 
tions involved  possess  no  practical  importance.  These  families  have,  gen- 
erally, been  merged,  by  interbreeding,  in  the  United  States  and  other 
countries  which  have  received  the  race  from  Spain.  Purity  of  Merino 
blood,  and  actual  excellence  in  the  individual  and  its  ancestors,  has  long 
since  been  the  only  standard  which  has  guided  sensible  men  in  selecting 
«heep  of  this  breed.  Families  have  indeed  sprung  up,  in  this  country,  ex- 

*  Archives  of  Useful  Knowledge.— Cultiyator,  vol.  L  p.  183. 

f  See  Lnsteyrie  on  Sheep— or,  if  nit  accessible— hia  statements  quoted  by  Mr.  Youatt,  p.  loG.  For  Mr 
farvie's  statements,  see  his  Letter  t:  L.  D.  Gregory,  quoted  in  American  Shepherd,  pp.  73,  74. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.          133 

Mbiting  wider  points  of  difference  than  did  those  of  Spain.  In  some  casea 
they  doubtless  owe  it  to  particular  courses  of  breeding — but  more  often, 
probably,  to  concealed  or  forgotten  infusions  of  other  blood. 

The  point  has,  indeed,  been  occasionally  mooted,  whether  there  are 
any  Merinos  in  the  United  States,  descendants  of  the  early  importation*, 
of  unquestionable  purity  of  blood.  That  there  are,  has  been  recently  deft 
nitely  settled  by  a  connected  chain  of  undisputable  and  undisputed  testimo- 
ny,* not  necessary  here  to  be  repeated.  That,  on  the  other  hand,  in  the 
recent  rush  of  speculation,  a  marvelous  facility  has  been  evinced,  in  some 
instances,  m  suddenly  recollecting  lost  links  in  the  chain  of  pedigree — or 
in  forgetting  others  which  it  would  not  be  expedient  to  remember,  no  one 
would  require  any  proof  who  has  seen  some  of  the  animals  which  have 
been  hawked  through  the  country  as  full-bloods. 

"  Taken  collectively,  the  Spanish  rams,  according  to  Chancellor  Living- 
ston, yield  about  eight  and  a  half  pounds  of  wool,  and  the  ewes  five,  which 
loses  half  in  washing — making  four  pounds  and  a  quarter  the  average 
weight  of  fleece  of  the  rams,  and  two  and  a  half  the  average  of  the  ewes.t 
Some  varieties  considerably  exceed  this  estimate,  and  probably  it  would 
fall  short  if  applied  to  the  prime  sheep  of  any  variety." 

The  fleeces  of  the  Merinos  at  Rambouillet  in  France,  it  is  stated  in  the 
Report  of  M.  Gilbert,  to  the  National  Institute,  quoted  by  Mr.  Living- 
ston,! weigh,  in  the  rams,  from  twelve  to  thirteen  pounds  (unwashed)  wool 
— taking  rams  and  ewes  together,  it  has  "not  quite  attained  to  eight  pounds, 
after  deducting  the  tags  and  the  wool  of  the  belly,  which  are  sold  sepa- 
rately." Mr.  Livingston  remarks  that  the  French  pound  is  about  one- 
twelfth  heavier  than  the  English  ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  that  from  the  man- 
ner of  folding  and  housing  sheep  and  feeding  them  on  fallows  in  Franco, 
they  are  very  dirty,  and  lose  60  per  cent,  in  washing.")]  This  would  bring 
the  average  of  the  Rambouillet  flock  to  about  four  pounds,  exclusive  of 
tag  arid  belly  wool. 

M.  Lasteyrie  gives  the  following  annual  averages  per -head  of  the  Ram 
bouiilet  flock :  1796,  6  Ibs.  9  oz. ;  1797,  8  Ibs. ;  1798,  7  Ibs. ;  1799,  8  Ibs. , 
1800,  S  Ibs. ;  1801,  9  Ibs.  1  oz. — This  is  unwashed  wool,  and  will  lose  half 
in  washing.  Mr.  Livingston's  imported  ewes  averaged  5  Ibs.  2  oz. ;  his 
rams  6  Ibs.  7  oz.,  of  unwashed  wool.§  The  later  importations  will,  judg- 
ing from  the  specimens  I  have  seen,  average  much  higher  than  the  latter. 
They  are  a  large  sheep,  with  good,  but  not  the  best,  quality  of  Merino 
wool — some  of  the  larger  stocks  being  rather  coarse — and  not  very  uni- 
form, one  with  another,  either  in  their  appearance  or  fleeces — and  are 
most  remarkable  for  the  loose  pendulous  skin  which  hangs  about  their 
necks,  and  lies  in  folds  about  their  bodies.  They  are  free  from  hair—- 
their wool,  which  is  of  good  style,  opens  with  a  creamy  color,  and  rich  lus- 
tre, on  a  fine  rose-colored  skin.  Their  wool  is  long  on  the  back,  shortish 
on  the  belly — thick,  but  not  so  thick  as  that  of  many  of  the  American  Me- 
rinos— very  yolky,  but  destitute  of  concrete  external  gum. 

The  American  Merino  has,  as  already  intimated,  diverged  into  families 
or  varieties  presenting  wide  points  of  difference.  The  minor  distinctions 
are  numerous,  but  they  may  all,  perhaps,  be  classed  under  three  general 
heads.  Th&jftrst,  is  a  large,  short-legged,  strong,  exceedingly  hardy  sheep, 
carrying  a  heavy  fleece,  ranging  from  medium  to  fine — free  from  hair  in 
properly  bred  flocks — somewhat  inclined  to  tkroatincss,  but  not  so  much 
so  as  the  Rambouillets — bred  to  exhibit  external  concrete  gum  in  some 

*  This  testimony  will  be  found  in  a  Letter  from  roe  to  A.  B.  Allen,  Esq.,  in  the  December  No  of 
American  Agriculturist,  1844,  and  in  the  Cultivator,  I  think,  of  the  same  date — if  not,  the  succeeding  No. 
t  Livingston's  Essay  on  Sheep,  p.  39.  J  Ibid.,  p.  49,  et  supra. 

it  Livingston's  Essay  on  Sheep,  p.  51.  §  Ibid.,  Appendix. 


134 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


flocks,  but  not  commonly  so — their  wool  longish  on  both  back  and  be'iiy 
and  exceedingly  dense — wool  whiter  within  than  the  Rambouillets— skin 
the  same  rich  rose-color.  The  ram  on  page  131  is  a  good  specimen  of  thia 
variety,  though  his  age  is  not  sufficient  to  give  him  the  substance  and  com- 
pactness of  an  older  animal,  and  the  apparent  want  in  these  particulars  is 
[lightened  by  recent  shearing.*  His  first  fleece  of  well-washed  wool  at 
thirteen  months  old,  was  8  Ibs. ;  was  of  beautiful  quality,  and  entirely- 
destitute  of  hair.  At  three  years  old  he  would  have  sheared  from  10  to  12 
ibs.  of  well-washed  wool.f 


MERINO  EWE. 


The  second  general  class  of  American  Merinos  are  smaller  than  the  pre- 
ceding— less  hardy — wool  as  a  general  thing  finer — covered  with  a  black 
pitchy  gum  on  its  extremities — fleece  about  one-fourth  lighter  than  in  class 
first. 

The  third  class,  which  have  been  bred  mostly  South,  are  still  smaller  and 
less  hardy — and  carry  still  finer  and  lighter  fleeces.  The  fleece  is  desti- 
tute of  external  gum.  The  sheep  and  wool  bear  a  close  resemblance  to 
the  Saxon  ;  and  if  not  actually  mixed  with  that  blood, J  they  have  been 
formed  into  a  similar  variety,  by  a  similar  course  of  breeding. 

Class  first  are  a  larger  and  stronger  sheep  than  those  originally  imported 
from  Spain,  carry  much  heavier  fleeces,  and  in  well  selected  flocks,  or  in- 
dividuals, the  fleece  is  of  a  decidedly  better  quality.  The  ewe  from  my 
flock — the  portrait  of  which  is  given  above — sheared  7  Ibs.  10  oz.  of  well- 
washed  wool. ||.  The  fibre  numbered  1.  in  fig.  1,  in  the  succeeding  measure- 
ments by  Dr.  Emmons,  is  from  this  fleece.  The  fleece  is  exceedingly  ever 
and  entirely  destitute  of  hair. 

For  the  purpose  of  exhibiting  the  comparative  quality  of  the  wool  of 

*  The  portrait,  on  the  whole,  is  strikingly  accurate,  but  the  skill  of  the  artist  does  not  compensate  for  hll 
want  of  experience,  in  animal  painting,  in  aiving  the  anatomical  details  and  expression  of  the  countenance 
The  fame  remark  applies  to  the  portrait  of  the  ewe 

t  This  valuable  anim«!  died  since  the  above  portrait  was  painted,  and  prior  to  his  second  shearing. 

*  I  am  not  aware  what  pedigree  is  claimed  for  them.    They  are  usually  spoken  of  as  Moiinoa. 
[}  «.  e. —  washed  as  clean  as  practicable  in  a  brook,  under  a  heavy  sheet  of  fulling  water. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


135 


ihe  American,  Rambouillet,  and  early  imported  Spanish  Merinos,  1  copy 
the  following,  from  the  pen  of  Ebenezer  Emmons,  M.  D.,  State  Geologist, 
in  the  American  Quarterly  Journal  of  Agriculture  and  Science,  of  which 
publication  Dr.  E.  is  the  Editor. 

"  Having  given  you  a  pretty  full  report  of  the  farm  and  stock  of  Mr.  Randall,  embracing 
many  details  also  in  the  several  branches  of  husbandry,  I  now  propose  adding  a  few  wordi 
as  an  appendix  to  that  report.  I  gave  some  intimation,  when  speaking  of  the  fineness  of 
.he  wool  of  Mr.  R.'s  sheep,  that  on  my  return  home  I  would  furnish  something  more  exact 
as  a  test  for  fineness  than  the  naked  eye.  In  fulfillment  of  this  intimation,  I  have  been  efl* 
gaged  since  I  returned,  in  measuring  the  diameter  of  the  different  staples  which  I  procured 
while  at  Cortlandville,  and  which  I  have  compared  with  others  obtained  of  our  mutual 
friend,  Luther  Tucker,  Esq.,  of  the  Cultivator. 

"  The  different  kinds  are  indicated  by  numbers.  I  have  prepared  a  scale  which  is  equal 
to  100  millimeters ;  a  millimeter  is  equal  to  0-039  of  an  inch.  The  hundredth  of  a  millime- 
ter,* and  the  fibres  of  wool,  are  all  subjected  to  the  same  magnifying  power  of  an  excellent 
Chevalier's  compound  microscope.  The  comparison  is  both  absolute  and  relative  ;  but  it  it 
highly  interesting  to  see  the  perceptible  difference  between  the  different  fibres  of  wool.  The 
microscope  also  reveals  other  differences ;  some  of  the  fibres  appeared  rather  uneven  or  flat- 
tened, and  destitute  of  a  clear  and  distinct  pith  or  tube ;  and,  in  fact,  I  may  remark  that  the 
microscope  is  really  the  best  method  of  testing  the  real  quality  of  wool."  .  .  . 

Fig.  1. 


"  No.  1,  Mr.  Randall's;  No.  la,  fibre  of  Mr.  Randall's  prize  Merino  buck;t  No.  16,  fibre 
from  one  of  Mr.  Randalls  fleeces  ;  No.  2  and  2«,  fibres  from  Mr.  Reth  Adams's  wool ;  No. 
4,  Remilles  wool,  Shoreham,  Vt. ;  No.  5,  fibre  of  S.  O.  Burchard's  fine  wool,  Shoreham ; 
No.  3,  fibre  of  Charles  L.  Smith's  wool,  Shoreham  ;  No.  6,  fibre  from  Collins's  Grandee.  The 
last  five  were  taken  from  wool  left  at  the  Cultivator  office.  In  all  the  fibres  examined  there 
i*  a  great  uniformity  in  the  parcels ;  only  slight  differences,  in  fact,  could  be  detected  in  the 
•everal  diameters.  No.  7  shows  the  structure  of  wool  as  seen  under  the  microscope.  In 
the  corner  is  the  scale  of  measurement.  The  finest  fibre  as  magnified  in  this  cut  is  equal  to 
about  eighteen-hundredths  of  an  inch  in  diameter. 

"  Another  inquiry  equally  important  with  the  preceding  came  up  in  this  place :  What  ic 
the  strength  of  a  single  fibre  of  wool,  and  is  the  coarser  comparatively  stronger  than  the  finet 
I  set  about  answering  those  inquiries  at  once,  and  now  give  you  the  result  below : 

"  Mr.  Randall's  No.  Ib,  cm  three  trials,  supported  on  an  average  62  grains ;  or,  rather, 
broke  when  tried  with  the  weight  of  62  grains. 

"  Mr.  R.'s  No.  la  broke  with  57-1  grains. 

"  The  fibre  from  Collins's  Grandee,  on  three  trials,  supported  on  an  average  84-6  grains. 

"  Mr.  Smith's  specimen  of  Shoreham,  Vt.,  on  three  trials,  gave  an  average  of  65-6  grains." 

No.  la  is  the  wool  of  my  ram  "  Premium,"  which  received  the  first  prize 


About  1-2500  of  an  inch. 


tTaken  from  the  animal  by  Doct.  Emmons. 


136 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


at  the  State  Fair  at  Poughkeepsie,  1844,*  and  his  fleece  weighed  10  Ibs. 
of  well  washed  wool. 

No.  2  and  2a,  (Mr.  Seth  Adams's  wool,)  were  from  the  sheep  imported 
by  that  gentleman. 

No.  6  was  from  Grandee,  the  best  ram  of  Mr.  Collins's  Rambouillet  im- 
portation. 

It  will  be  observed,  first,  that  the  American  wool  is  the  finest,  and 
•econd,  its  strength  is  greatest  in  proportion  to  its  diameter. 

It  will  probably  be  as  well  to  bring  Doct.  Emmons's  subsequent  meas- 
urements of  the  wool  of  other  individuals  and  varieties  together  at  this 
place,  as  to  scatter  them  through  the  descriptions  of  the  several  breeds. 
It  will  render  a  comparison  between  them  more  convenient.  I  would  re- 
mark that  the  cuts  are  copied  from  those  of  Doct.  Emmons,  with  the 
strictest  fidelity.!  Indeed  they  are  perfect  fac  similes. 

Fig  2. 


"  Figure  2  (scale  of  measurement  same  as  in  Fig.  1)  exhibits  the  comparative  diameters  of 
Ihe  wool  fibre  of  two  premium  Saxon  sheep  exhibited  at  the  Slate  Fair  at  Utica.  1845.  A  1 
iii  a  fibre  of  wool  from  the  shoulder  of  the  2d  premium  sheep  (Mr.  Church's)  ;  2  do.  from  the 
flank.  B  1,  fibre  from  the  shoulder  of  the  first  premium  sheep  (Mr.  Crocker's) :  2  do.flank. 

Fig.  3. 


"  Fig.  3,  No.  1.  fibre  of  Bake  well — about  the  average  fineness  of  this  kind  of  wool.  No.  9, 
fibre  from'  Merino  ewe  belonging  to  Col.  Sherwood,  3  years  old  (Blakesley  sheep.1)  No.  1 
do.  Mr.  Bailey's  ewe.  No.  4  do.  Mr.  Atwood's. 


Fig.  4. 


,,  4.__ *$o.  5,  fibre  of  Mr.  Ellis's  ewe,  fleece  weighing  6  Ibs.  13  oz.    No.  6  do.  Mr.  Net- 
s  yearling  Merino  buck.     No.  7  do.  a  sample  from  the  imported  5  per  cent.  South 
American  wool,  which  is  seen  to  be  nearly  as  fine  as  the  best  of  our  flocks.     No.  8  do.  Col. 

*  This  is  the  only  time  my  sheep  have  ever  been  shown  nt  a  State  Fair,  and  I  first  made  arrangement* 
Ibr  exhibitiPc,  in  the  expectation  of  having  the  privilege  of  comparing  my  sheep  with  the  imported  Ram- 
bouiilet8  of  Mr.  Collins.  Mr.  C.,  however,  declined  my  invitation  to  show.  I  received  the  first  pnze  on 
rams,  and  the  first  and  second  on  ewes. 

t  Executed  by  William  Rowland,  of  New  York,  whom  I  take  pleasure  in  recommending  to  all  wishing  U 
Obtain  wood  engravings,  as  an  accurate  and  most  obliging  artist. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  137 

Sherwood's  three-year-old  buck,  sheared  8£  Ibs.  of  wool.     No.  9  do.  finest  Saxon  wool  ia 
market. 

JTJ.T.  5. No.  10,  fine  Ohio  wool.     No.  12,  do.  Saxon  l^?-  •* 

of  the  late  Mr.  Grove's  excellent  flock.     No.  13,  do.    i\     \  V 
original  imported  Spanish  wool  by  Seth  Adams.   No. 
l4,"Mr.  L.  A.  Morrell's  Saxon 

The  following  cut,  copied  from  Youatt, 

exhibits  a  fibre    of  Merino  wool  viewed       10        1Z         13 
both  as  ah  opaque  and  transparent  object,  with  a  microscope  manufac- 
tured by  Mr.  Powell,  of  London. 

The  serrations  or  "  beards,"  which  constitute 
the  felting  property  of  wool,  are  beautifully 
distinct  and  sharp.  It  was  a  picklock  from  a 
Negretti  fleece,  and  Mr.  Youatt  says  it  is  "  very 
line,  being  only  the  yj^th  part  of  an  inch  in  ;! 
diameter."  By  consulting  Doct.  Emmons's 
preceding  statements,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  wool  of  my  prize  ram  "  Pre- 
mium" is  only  about  j-gVo1^  °^  an  *ncn  *n  diameter  \  This  forcibly  shows 
the  improvement  which  has  been  made  on  the  Merino  wool  of  Spain  in  the 
United  States. 

"  The  Merino,  though  the  native  of  a  warm  climate,  becomes  readily  iii 
ured  to  the  greatest  extremes  of  cold,  flourishing  as  far  north  as  Sweden, 
without  degenerating  in  fleece  or  form.  It  is  a  patient,  docile  animal,  bear- 
ing much  confinement  without  injury  to  health,  and  possesses  none  of  that 
peculiar  '  voraciousness  of  appetite,'  ascribed  to  it  by  English  writers.* — 
Accurately  conducted  experiments  have  shown  that  it  consumes  "  a  little 
over  '"  two  pounds  of  hay  per  diem,  in  winter ;  the  Leicester  consumes  from 
three  and  a  half  to  four  ;  and  the  common  wooled  American  sheep  woiild 
not  probably  fall  short  of  three.  The  mutton  of  the  Merino,  in  spite  of  the 
prejudice  which  exists  on  the  subject,  is  short  grained  and  of  good  flavor, 
when  killed  at  a  proper  age,"  and  weighs  from  ten  to  fourteen  pounds  to 
to  the  quarter.  "  It  is  remarkable  for  its  longevity,  retaining  its  teeth  and 
continuing  to  breed  two  or  three  years  longer  than  the  common  sheep," 
and  at  least  half  a  dozen  years  longer  than  the  improved  English  Breeds  ; 
"  but  it  should  be  remarked  in  connection  with  this  fact,  that  it  is  corres- 
pondingly slow  in  arriving  at  maturity.  It  does  not  attain  its  full  growth 
before  three  years  old,  and  the  ewes  in  the  best  managed  flocks,  are  rarely 
permitted  to  breed  before  they  reach  that  age." 

The  Merino  is  a  far  better  breeder  than  any  other  fine-wooled  sheep, 
and  my  experience  goes  to  show  that  its  lambs,  when  newly  dropped,  are 
hardier  than  the  Bakewell,  and  equally  so  with  the  high  bred  South- 
Down.  The  ewe  is  not  so  good  a  nurse,  however,  as  the  latter,  and  will  not 
usually  do  full  justice  to  more  than  one  lamb.  Eighty  or  ninety  per 
cent,  is  about  the  ordinary  number  of  lambs  usually  reared,  though  il 
often  reaches  one  hundred  per  cent,  in  carefully  managed  or  sinal' 
flocks. 

"  We  have  already  adverted  to  the  cross  between  the  Merino  and  the 
native  sheep.  On  the  introduction  of  the  Saxon  family  of  the  Merinos,  they 
were  universally  engrafted  on  the  parent  stock,  and  the  cross  was  contin- 
ued until  the  Spanish  blood  was  nearly  bred  out."  When  the  admixture 
took  place  with  judiciously  selected  Saxons,  it  resulted  not  unfavor- 
ably for  certain  purposes.  But  unfortunately  these  instances  of  judicious 
crossing  were  rare.  Our  country  was  flooded  by  eager  speculators,  with 
the  feeblest  and  least  hardy  Merinos  of  Germar.y.  Fineness  of  wool  during 

*  Youatt,  p.  149. 


138 


SHEEP   HUSBANDRY  IN  THE   SOUTH. 


the  period  of  this  strange  excitement,  was  made  the  only  test  of  excellence, 
no  matter  how  scanty  its  quantity,  no  matter  how  diminutive  or  miserable 
the  carcass.  Governed  by  such  views,  the  holders  of  most  of  our  Merino 
flocks  purchased  these  over-delicate  Saxons,  and  the  consequence  was  as 
might  have  been  foreseen — their  flocks  were  ruined." 


SAXON    RAM 


SAXONS. — "  In  the  year  1765,  Augustus  Frederick,  Elector  of  Saxony,  ob- 
tained permission  from  the  Spanish  Court  to  import  two  hundred  Merinos, 
selected  from  the  choicest  flocks  of  Spain.  They  were  chosen  principally 
from  the  Escurial  flock,  and  on  their  arrival  in  Saxony,  were  placed  on  a 
private  estate  belonging  to  the  Elector,  under  the  care  of  Spanish  shepherds. 
So  much  importance  was  attached  to  the  experiment,  as  it  was  then  con- 
sidered, that  a  commission  was  appointed  to  superintend  the  affairs  of  the 
establishment ;  and  it  was  made  its  duty  to  diffuse  information  in  relation 
to  the  management  of  the  new  breed  ;  to  dispose  of  the  surplus  rams  at 
prices  which  would  place  them  within  the  reach  of  all  holders  of  sheep  ; 
•and  finally,  by  explaining  the  superior  value  of  the  Merinos,  to  induce 
the  Saxon  farmers  to  cross  them  with  their  native  breeds.  Popular  preju- 
dice, however,  was  strong  against  them,  and  this  was  hightened  by  the  rava 
ges  of  the  scab,  which  had  been  introduced  with  them  from  Spain,  and 
which  proved  very  destructive  before  it  was  finally  eradicated.  But  when 
it  became  apparent  that  the  Merino,  so  far  from  degenerating,  had  im- 
proved "  in  the  quality  of  its  wool,  in  Saxony,  "  the  wise  and  patriotic  efforts 
of  the  Elector  began  to  reap  their  merited  success,  and  a  revolution  took 
place  in  popular  sentiment.  The  call  for  rams  became  so  great  that  the 
Government  resolved  on  a  new  importation,  to  enable  them  more  effec- 
tually to  meet  it,  and  to  improve  still  farther  the  stock  already  obtained. 
For  this  purpose  an  individual,  considered  one  of  the  best  judges  of  sheep 
in  Saxony,  was  dispatched  to  Spain  in  1777,  with  orders  to  select  three  hun- 
dred. For  some  reason,  probably  because  he  experienced  difficulty  in  obtain- 
ing a  greater  number  presenting  all  the  qualifications  he  sought,  he  return- 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  139 

ed  with  but  one  hundred  and  ten.  They  were  from  nearly  all  the  different 
flocks  of  Spain,  but.  principally  the  Escurial — and  were  considered  decided- 
ly superior  to  the  first  importation.  In  addition  to  the  establishment  at 
Stolpen,  already  founded,  others  were  now  commenced  at  Rennersdorf, 
Lohmen,  &c. ;  schools  were  established  for  the  education  of  shepherds ; 
publications  were  distributed  by  the  commissioners  to  throw  information 
on  the  subject  before  the  people ;  and  the  Crown  tenants,  it  is  said,  were 
each  required  to  purchase  a  certain  number  of  the  sheep." 

Mr.  Spooner*  states  that  there  are  two  distinct  breeds  of  the  Saxon  Me- 
rino sheep,  the  first  "  having  stouter  legs,  stouter  bodies,  head  and  neck  com- 
paratively short  and  broad,  body  round.  The  wool  grows  most  on  the  face 
and  legs — the  grease  in  the  wool  is  almost  pitchy."  The  other  breed  call- 
ed Escurial  have  longer  legs,  with  a  long,  spare  neck  and  head,  with  very 
little  wool  on  the  latter,  and  a  finer,  shorter  and  softer  character  in  its 
fleece,  but  less  in  quantity.  The  fleece  in  the  Escurial  averages  from  one 
and  a  half  to  two  pounds  in  ewes,  and  two  to  three  pounds  in  rams  and 
wethers,  while  in  the  others  it  is  from  two  and  a  quarter  to  three  and  a 
quarter  in  ewes,  and  from  four  to  six  pounds  in  ram  and  wethers.  Those 
varieties  cannot  be  amalgamated  successfully. 

The  preceding  portrait  is  a  favorable  specimen  of  the  Escurial  Saxon, 
copied  from  a  cut,  after  a  drawing  by  Harvey,  in  Mr.  Spooner's  work. 

That  the  German  shepherds  have  sacrificed  the  hardiness  of  the  Merino, 
and  indeed  almost  everything  else,  for  fineness  of  staple,  there  can  be  but 
little  doubt.  Their  method  of  managing  the  sheep  and  its  effects  are  thus 
described  by  Mr.  Carr,  a  large  sheep-owner  of  Germany  :f 

"  They  are  always  housed  at  night,  even  in  summer,  except  in  the  very  finest  weather, 
when  they  are  sometimes  folded  in  the  distant  fallows,  but  never  taken  to  pasture  until  the 
dew  is  off  the  grass.  In  the  winter  they  are  kept  within  doors  altogether,  and  are  fed  with  a 
small  quantity  of  sound  hay,  and  every  variety  of  straw,  which  has  not  suffered  from  wet, 
and  which  is  varied  at  each  feed ;  they  pick  it  over  carefully,  eating  the  finer  parts,  and  any 
grain  that  may  have  been  left  by  the  threshers.  Abundance  of  good  water  to  drink,  and  rock- 
salt  in  their  cribs,  are  indispensables They  cannot  thrive  in  a  damp  climate,  and  it 

is  quite  necessary  that  they  should  have  a  wide  range  of  dry  and  hilly  pasture  of  short  and 
not  over-nutritious  herbage.  If  allowed  to  feed  on  swampy  or  marshy  ground,  even  once  or 
twice,  in  autumn,  they  are  sure  to  die  of  liver  complaint  ia  the  following  spring.  If  they 
are  permitted. to  eat  wet  grass,  or  exposed  frequently  to  rain,  they  disappear  by  hundreds 
with  consumption.  In  these  countries  it  is  found  the  higher  bred  the  sheep  is,  especially  the 
Escurial,  the  more  tender !" 

Such  are  the  common  views  of  the  sheep,  and  their  treatment  over 
Germany,  Prussia,  and  Austria.  Various  statements  of  the  methods  adopt- 
ed by  Baron  Geisler,  Graf  Hunyadi,  and  other  eminent  flockmasters,  will 
be  found  in  Dr.  Bright's  Travels  in  Lower  Hungary,  Paget's  Travels  in 
Hungary  and  Transylvania,  Jacob's  Travels  in  Germany,  &c. 

The  qualities  of  the  Saxons  as  breeders  and  nurses,  may  be  inferred 
from  the  following  regulations,  for  the  management  of  his  flock,  by  Baron 
Geisler.f 

"  During  the  lambing  period,  a  shepherd  should  be  constantly  day  and  night  in  the  cote, 
in  order  that  he  may  place  the  lamb,  a  soon  as  it  is  cleaned,  together  with  its  mother,  in  a 
separate  pen,  which  has  been  before  prepared.  The  ewes  which  have  lambed  should, 
during  a  week,  be  driven  neither  to  water  or  pasture ;  but  low  troughs  of  water  for  this  pur- 
pose are  to  be  introduced  into  each  partition,  in  order  that  they  may  easily  and  at  all  times 
quench  their  thirst.  It  is  also  very  useful  to  put  a  small  quantity  of  barley-meal  into  the  water, 
Tor  by  this  means  the  quantity  of  the  ewe's  milk  is  much  increased.  When  the  lambs  are  so 
strong  that  they  can  eat,  they  are  to  be  separated  by  degrees  from  their  mothers,  and  fed 
with  the  best  and  finest  oats,  being  suffered  at  first  to  go  to  them  but  three  times  a  day. 
early  in  the  morning,  at  mid-day,  and  in  the  evening,  and  so  to  continue  till  they  can  travel  t» 
pasture,  and  fully  satisfy  themselves." 

*  Spooner,  p.  51  t  Quoted  by  Spooner,  p.  58.  I  Ibid.,  p.  59. 


1  10  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

The  following  history  of  the  introduction  of  the  Saxons  into  the  United 
States,  was  compiled  by  me  from  written  memoranda,  and  the  oral  state- 
nients  of  Mr.  Grove,  submitted  to  the  Committee  of  New-York  State  Ag- 
ricultural Society,  already  alluded  to,  of  which  I  was  Chairman,  and  was 
published  in  my  Report,  credited,  of  course,  to  Mr.  Grove  individually,  as 
no  other  member  of  the  Committee  was  conversant  with  the  facts  nar- 
rated.* 

"  The  first  importation  of  Saxony  sheep  into  the  United  States  was  made  by  Mr.  Samuel 
Hensliaw,  a  merchant  of  Boston,  at  the  instance  of  Col.  James  Shepherd,  of  Northampton. 
They  were  but  six  or  seven  in  number.  In  1824,  Messrs.  G.  &  T.  Searle,  of  Boston,  import- 
ed 77  Saxon  sheep.  They  were  selected  and  purchased  by  a  Mr.  Kretchman,  a  correspond- 
ent of  the  above  firm,  residing  in  Leipsic,  and  shipped  at  Bremen  on  board  the  American 
schooner  Velocity.  I  was  engaged  to  take  charge  of  the  sheep  on  the  passage,  and  I  also 
shipped  six  on  my  own  account.  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  as  many  as  one-third  of  the  sheep 

Eurchased  by  Kretchman.  (who  shared  profit  and  loss  in  the  undertaking,)  were  not  pure- 
looded  sheep.  The  cargo  were  sold  at  auction  at  Brooklyn,  as  'pure-blooded  electoral  Sax- 
ons,' and  thus  unfortunately  in  the  very  outset  the  pure  and  impure  became  irrevocably  mix- 
ed. But  I  feel  the  greatest  certainty  that  the  Messrs.  Searle  intended  to  import  none  but 
the  pure  stock — the  fault  lay  with  Kretchman.  In  the  fall  of  1824, 1  entered  into  an  arrange- 
ment with  the  Messrs.  Searle  to  return  to  Saxony,  and  purchase  in  connection  with  Kretch- 
man, from  160  to  200  Electoral  sheep.  I  was  detained  at  sea  seven  weeks,  which  gave  riso 
to  the  belief  that  I  was  shipwrecked  and  lost.  When  I  finally  arrived,  the  sheep  had  been  al- 
ready bought  by  Kretchman.  On  being  informed  of  what  the  purchase  consisted,  I  protested 
against  taking  them  to  America,  and  insisted  on  a  better  selection,  but  to  no  purpose.  A 
quarrel  ensued  between  us,  and  Kretchman  even  went  so  far  as  to  engage  another  to  take 
charge  of  the  sheep  on  their  passage.  My  friends  interposing,  I  was  finally  induced  to  take 
charge  of  them.  The  number  shipped  was  167,  15  of  which  perished  on  the  passage.  They 
were  sold  at  Brighton,  some  of  them  going  as  high  as  from  $400  to  $450.  A  portion  of  this 
importation  consisted  of  grade  sheep,  which  sold  as  high  as  the  pure-bloods,  for  the  Ameri- 
can purchasers  could  not  know  the  difference.  It  may  be  readily  imagined  what  an  induce- 
ment the  Brighton  sale  held  out  to  speculation,  both  in  this  country  and  Saxony.  The  Ger- 
man newspapers  teemed  with  advertisements  of  sheep  for  sale,  headed  '  Good  for  the  Ameri- 
can Market ;'  and  these  sheep,  in  many  instances,  were  actually  bought  up  for  the  American 
market  at  five,  eight  or  ten  dollars  a  head,  when  the  pure-bloods  could  not  be  purchased  at 
from  less  than  $30  to  $40.  In  1836,  Messrs.  Searle  imported  three  cargoes,  amounting  in  the  ag- 
gregate to  5 13  sheep.  They  were  of  about  the  same  character  with  their  prior  importations,  in 
the  main  good,  but  mixed  with  some  grade  sheep.  On  the  same  year  a  cargo  of  221  arrived,  on 
German  account,  Emil  Bach,  of  Leipsic,  supercargo.  A  few  were  good  sheep  and  of  pure  blood  ; 
but  taken  as  a  lot  they  were  miserable.  The  owners  sunk  about  $3,000.  Next  came  a  cargo 
of  210  on  German  account;  Wasinuss  and  Multer,  owners.  The  whole  cost  of  these  was 
about  $1,125,  in  Germany.  With  the  exception  of  a  small  number,  procured  to  make  a 
flourish  on,  in  their  advertisements  of  sale  they  were  sheep  having  no  pretensions  to  purity 
of  blood.  In  1827.  the  same  individuals  brought  out  another  cargo.  These  were  selected 
exclusively  from  grade  flocks  of  low  character.  On  the  same  year  the  Messrs.  Searle  made 
their  last  importation,  consisting  of  182  sheep.  Of  these  I  know  little.  My  friends  in  Ger- 
many wrote  me  that  they  were  like  their  other  importations,  a  mixture  of  pure  and  impure 
blooded  sheep.  It  is  due,  however,  to  the  Messrs.  Scale  to  say  that,  as  a  whole,  their  im- 
portations were  much  better  than  any  other  made  into  Boston. 

"  I  will  now  turn  your  attention  to  the  importations  made  into  other  ports.  In  1825,  13 
Saxons  arrived  in  Portsmouth.  They  were  miserable  creatures.  In  1826, 191  sheep  arrived 
in  New- York,  per  brig  William,  on  German  account.  A  portion  of  these  were  well  descend- 
ed and  valuable  animals,  the  rest  were  grade  sheep.  In  June  the  same  year,  the  brig  Lou- 
isa brought  out  173  on  German  account.  Not  more  than  one-third  of  them  had  the  least  pre- 
tensions to  purity  of  blood.  Next  we  find  158,  shipped  at  Bremen,  on  German  account.— 
Some  were  diseased  before  they  left  Bremen,  and  I  am  happy  to  state  that  twenty-two  died 
before  their  arrival  in  New-York.  All  I  intend  to  say  of  them  is,  that  they  were  a  most  cu 
rious  and  motley  mess  of  wretched  animals.  The  next  cargo  imported  arrived  in  ^he  brig 
Maria  Elizabeth,  under  my  own  care.  They  were  165  in  number,  belonging  to  myself  and 
F.  Gebhard,  of  New- York.  These  sheep  cost  me  $65  a  head  when  landed  in  New- York. — 
They  sold  at  an  average  of  $50  a  head,  thus  sinking  about  $2,400  !  I  need  not  say  that  they 
were  exclusively  of  pure  blood.  A  cargo  of  81  arrived  soon  after,  but  I  know  nothing  of 
their  quality.  The  next  importation  consisted  of  184,  on  German  account,  per  brig  Warren. 
With  a  few  exceptions  they  were  pure-blooded  and  good  sheep.  We  next  have  an  importa- 
tion of  200  by  the  Bremen  ship  Louisa.  They  were  commonly  called  the  '  stop  sale  sheep. 

*  Mr.  Morrel  in  his  American  Shepherd,  quotes  this  as  a  "  Report  "  drawn  and  read  by  Mr.  Grove,  (one  U 
ieft  to  infer,)  before  the  New-York  State  Agricultural  Society.  This  ia  doubtless  an  inadvertance. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  i'HE  SOUTH.  141 

They  were  of  the  most  miserable  character,  some  of  them  being  hardly  half-grade  sheep.— 
The  ship  Phebe  Ann  brought  120  sheep,  of  which  I  know  little ;  and  GO  were  landed  a! 
Philadelphia,  with  the  character  of  which  I  am  unacquainted.  Having  determined  to  settle 
in  America,  I  returned  to  Saxony,  and  spent  the  winter  of  1826-7  in  visiting  aud  examining 
many  flocks.  I  selected  115  from  the  celebrated  flock  of  Machern,  embarked  on  board  the 
ship 'Albion,  and  landed  in  New-York  June  27, 1827.  In  1828,  I  received  80  more  from  the 
same  flock,  selected  by  a  friend  of  mine,  an  excellent  judge  of  sheep.  I  first  drove  them  to 
Shaftsbury,  adjoining  the  town  of  Hosic,  where  I  now  reside.  On  their  arrival  they  stood 
me  in  $70  a  head,  and  the  lambs  half  that  sum." 

"  It  will  be  inferred  from  the  facts  above  stated  that  there  are  few  Sax- 
on flocks  in  the  United  States  that  have  not  been  reduced  to  the  quality 
of  grade  sheep,  by  the  promiscuous  admixture  of  the  pure  and  the  impure 
which  were  imported  together,  and  all  sold  to  our  breeders  as  pure  stock." 

And  independent  of  this,  there  are  but  exceedingly  few  flocks  which 
'have  not  been  again  crossed  with  the  Native  or  Merino  sheep  of  our  coun- 
try, or  both.  Those  who  early  purchased  the  Merino,  crossed  them  with 
the  Native  ;  and,  when  the  Saxons  arrived,  these  mongrels  were  bred  to 
Saxon  rams.  This  is  the  history  of  probably  three-quarters  of  the  "  Sax- 
on" flocks  of  the  United  States,  and  among  them  some,  as  I  know,  among 
the  most  celebrated. 

•As  these  sheep  have  now  so  long  been  bred  toward  the  Saxon  that  their 
wool  equals  that  of  the  pure-bloods,  it  is  exceedingly  problematical  in  my 
mind  whether  they  are  any  worse  for  the  admixture  :  when  crossed  only 
with  the  Merino,  it  is  undoubtedly  to  their  advantage.  Though  I  once 
thought  differently,  experience  has  satisfied  me  that  the  American  Saxon, 
with  these  early  crosses  in  its  pedigree,  is  a  hardier  and  more  easily  kept 
animal  than  the  pure  Escurial  or  Electoral  Saxon.  As  with  the  Merino, 
climate,  feed,  and  other  causes,  have  doubtless  conspired  to  add  to  their 
size  and  vigor ;  but,  after  all,  I  have  not  a  doubt  they  usually  owe  more 
sf  it  to  those  early  crosses. 

The  fleeces  of  the  American  Saxons  weigh,  on  the  average,  from  2  or 
2J-  to  3  Ibs.  They  are,  comparatively  speaking,  a  tender  sheep,  requiring 
regular  supplies  of  good  food,  good  shelter  in  winter,  and  protection  in 
cool  weather  from  storms  of  all  kinds  ;  but  they  are  evidently  hardier  than 
the  parent  German  stock.  In  docility  and  patience  under  confinement, 
late  maturity,  and  longevity,  they  resemble  the  Merinos,  from  which  they 
are  descended  ;  though  they  do  not  mature  so  early  as  the  Merino,  nor 
ordinarily  live  so  long.  They  are  poorer  nurses  ;  their  lambs  smaller,  fee- 
bler, and  far  more  likely  to  perish,  unless  sheltered  and  carefully  watched. 
They  do  not  fatten  so  well,  and,  being  considerably  lighter,  they  consume 
an  amount  of  food  correspondingly  less. 

Taken  together,  the  American  Saxons  bear  a  much  finer  wool  than  the 
American  Merinos  ;  but  Dr.  Emmons's  measurements  show  that  this  is 
not  always  the  case,  and  many  breeders  of  Saxons  are  now  crossing  with 
the  Merino,  in  the  expectation  of  increasing  the  weight  of  their  fleeces 
without  deteriorating  its  quality.*  Though  I  am  in  possession  of  wool 
from  Saxons  in  Connecticut  and  Ohio,  which  compares  well  with  the 
higher  grades  of  German  wool,t  and  though  there  are  doubtless  other 
flocks  of  equal  quality  in  the  country ,J  our  Saxon  wool,  as  a  whole,  falls 
considerably  below  that  of  Germany ;  and  I  never  have  seen  a  single  lock 
of  the  American  equaling  some  samples,  given  me  by  a  friend  recently 

*  Mr.  Lawrgnce  believes  this  practicable,  and  Mr.  Morrel  and  various  other  Saxon  breeders  hare  for 
•ome  time  bred  in  this  way. 

t  Fully  equaling,  and,  I  think,  better  than  some  German  wool  I  recently  saw,  which,  all  expenses  in« 
eluded,  stood  the^purchaser  in  $1  60  per  pound  I 

J  Dr.  Emmons  stated,  subsequently  to  his  measurements  above,  that  he  had  received  wool  fcom  tb* 
iock  «/  Dr.  Beekman.  considerably  finer  than  the  S*s  jn  wool  figured. 


J42 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


from  Europe,  which  came  from  Styria,  south  of  Vienna,  in  Austria.  The 
inferiority  of  the  American  to  the  German  wool  is  not  due  to  climate  or 
other  natural  causes,  nor  is  it  owing  to  a  want  of  skill  on  the  part  of  our 
breeders.  It  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  but  a  very  few  of  our  manufactur- 
ers have  ever  felt  willing  to  make  that  discrimination  in  prices  which  would 
render  it  profitable  to  breed  those  small  and  delicate  animals  which  pro- 
duce this  exquisite  quality  of  wool.  No  American  breeder  thinks  of  hous- 
ing his  sheep  from  the  summer  rains  and  dew,  or  observing  any  of  the  hot- 
house regulations — at  least  in  the  summer — of  Graf  Hunyadi,  or  Baron 
Geisler  !  If  he  did,  his  wool  would  not  probably  pay  half  of  its  first  cost. 
When  our  manufacturers  wish  to  find  these  wools  in  the  home  market, 
they  must  learn  to  pay  for  them  in  the  home  market  as  liberally  as  they 
are  compelled  to  to  obtain  them  in  foreign  ones ! 


THE  NEW  LEICESTER,  OR  BAKEWELL. 

The  portrait  above  is  copied  from  one  of  a  sheep  of  this  variety,  belong- 
ing to  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  given  in  Mr.  Youatt's  work  on  Sheep. 

"  The  unimproved  Leicester  was  a  '  large,  heavy,  coarse-wooled  breed ' 
of  sheep,  inhabiting  the  midland  counties  of  England.  It  is  described  alsc 
as  having  been  '  a  slow  feeder,  and  its  flesh  coarse-grained,  and  with  little 
flavor.'  The  breeders  of  that  period  regarded  only  size  and  weight  of 
fleece.  The  celebrated  Mr.  Bakewell,  of  Dishley,  was  the  first  who  adopt- 
ed a  system  more  in  accordance  with  the  true  principles  of  breeding.  He 
•elected  from  the  flocks  about  him  those  sheep  '  whose  shape  possessed 
the  peculiarities  which  he  considered  would  produce  the  largest  propor- 
tion of  valuable  meat,  and  offal,'  and  having  observed  that  animals  of  me- 
dium size  possess  a  greater  aptitude  to  take  on  flesh,  and  consume  less 
food  than  those  which  are  larger,  and  that  prime  fattening  qualities  are 
rarely  found  in  sheep  carrying  a  great  weight  of  wool,  he  gave  the  prefer- 
ence to  those  of  smaller  size,  and  was  satisfied  with  lighter  fleeces."  To 
reach  the  wonderful  results  obtained  by  Mr.  Bakewell,  it  was  supposed 
that  he  resorted  to  a  cross  with  some  other  varieties,  but  it  is  believed  by 
some  that  he  owed  his  success  only  to  a  judicious  principle  of  selectioni 
ep«?  teady  adherence  to  certain  principles  of  breeding. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  143 

It  is  exceedingly  unfortunate  that  this  eminent  breeder  has  left  u.s  sc 
much  in  the  dark  in  relation  to  those  principles  of  breeding,  adopted  by 
him,  which  led  to  such  signal  success  in  his  efforts  to  improve  both  the 
cattle  and  sheep  of  the  region  in  England  in  which  he  resided.  All  of  hia 
measures  were  veiled  in  impenetrable  secrecy  even  from  his  most  intimate 
friends,  and  he  died  without  voluntarily  throwing  the  least  light  on  the 
subject.  The  whole  inception  and  management  of  his  famous  "  Dishley 
Society"*  betrays  selfishness  the  most  intense,  and,  in  plain  English,  mean- 
ness  the  most  unalloyed.  Should  a  man  claiming  to  be  a  gentleman,  in 
this  country,  make  valuable  discoveries  in  breeding,  or  in  any  other  de- 
partment of  husbandry,  and  closely  conceal  them  from  the  public,  his  con- 
duct would  meet  with  universal  reprehension  and  contempt  ;t  yet  the  thing 
seems  to  be  considered  a  matter  of  course,  or  is  at  least  passed  over  with- 
out censure,  in  Youatt,  Spooner,  Bischoff,  and  a  host  of  earlier  writers, 
all  of  whom  laud  Mr.  Bakewell  to  the  echo! 

"  The  improved  Leicester  is  of  large  size,  but  somewhat  smaller  thai, 
the  original  stock,  and  in  this  respect  falls  considerably  below  the  coarser 
varieties  of  Cotswold,  Lincoln,,  &c.  Where  there  is  a  sufficiency  of  feed, 
the  New  Leicester  is  unrivaled  for  its  fattening  properties,  but  it  will  not 
bear  hard  stocking,  nor  must  it  be  compelled  to  travel  far  in  search  of  its 
food.  It  is,  in  fact,  properly  and  exclusively  a  lowland  sheep.  In  its  ap- 
propriate situation,  on  the  luxuriant  herbage  of  the  highly  cultivated  lands 
of  England,  it  possesses  unrivaled  earliness  of  maturity  ;  and  its  mutton, 
when  not  too  fat,  is  of  a  good  quality,  but  is  usually  coarse,  and  compara- 
tively deficient  in  flavor,  owing  to  that  unnatural  state  of  fatness  which  it 
so  readily  assumes,  and  which  the  breeder,  to  gain  weight,  so  generally 
feeds  for.  The  wethers,  having  reached  their  second  year,  are  turned  off 
in  the  succeeding  February  or  March,  and  weigh  at  that  age  from  thirty 
to  thirty-five  pounds  to  the  quarter.  The  wool  of  the  New  Leicester  is 
long — averaging,  after  the  first  shearing,  about  six  inches  ;  and  the  fleece 
of  the  American  animal  weighs  about  six  pounds.  It  is  of  coarse  quality, 
and  little  used  in  the  manufacture  of  cloths,  on  account  of  its  length,  and 
that  deficiency  of  felting  properties  common,  in  a  greater  or  less  extent,  to 
all  the  English  breeds.  As  a  combing  wool,  however,  it  stands  first,  and 
is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  the  finest  worsteds,  &c. 

"  The  high  bred  Leicesters  of  Mr.  Bakewell's  stock  became  shy  breed- 
ers and  poor  nurses,  but  crosses  subsequently  adopted  "  have,  to  some  ex- 
tent, obviated  these  defects.  So  far  as  my  experience  has  extended  in  this 
country,  however,  the  lambs  are  not  very  hardy,  and  require  considerable 
attention  at  the  time  of  yeaning,  particularly  if  the  weather  is  even  moder- 
ately cold  or  stormy.  Neither  can  the  grown  sheep  be  considered,  in  my 
opinion,  very  hardy.  They  are  much  affected  by  sudden  changes  in  the 
weather,  and  a  sudden  change  to  cold  is  pretty  sure  to  be  registered  on 
their  noses  by  unmistakable  indications  of  catarrh  o-r  *  snuffles/ 

"In  England,  where  mutton  is  generally  eaten  by*the  laboring  classes, 
the  meat  of  this  variety  is  in  very  great  demand  ;  and  the  'consequent  re- 
turn which  a  sheep  possessing  such  fine  feeding  qualities  is  enabled  to 
make,  renders  it  a  general  favorite  with  the  breeder.  Instances  are  re- 
corded of  the  most  extraordinary  prices  having  been  paid  for  these  am- 

*  For  the  Regulations  of  this  Society,  see  Youatt,  p.  317. 

t  Of  course  I  do  not  include  in  this  category  those  nameless  venders  of  recipes  for  killing  Canada  This- 
tles, ratn,  &c.  &-r. ;  and  men  who  spend  their  time  and  property  in  inventing  improved  implements,  ere., 
nre  entitled  to  the  pay  offered  by  the  Patent  laws.    But,  among  our  agriculturists  of  standing,  who  has  evrt 
known  of  a  single  instance  of  a  valuable  discovery  in  the  operations  of  husbandry  being  concealed  or  with. 
lurid  from  the  public  ?     Who  has  known  a  breeder  of  rank  wheedle  a  partner  out  of  one-half  of  a  valuable 
bull,  and  then  refuse  the  quondum  partner  the  services  of  that  bull  at  any  price,  lest  he  should  prove 
dangerous  rival  in  breeding  ?    Yet,  what  English  writer  has  expressed  any  contempt  for  such  meanneM 
These  things  would  not  "  go  down"  among  us 


144  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

mals,  and  Mr.  Bakewell's  celebrated  buck  "  Two  Pounder"  was  let  foi 
the  enormous  price  of  four  hundred  guineas  for  a  single  season  !  The 
New  Leicester  has  spread  into  all  parts  of  the  British  Dominions,  and 
been  imported  into  the  other  countries  of  Kurope  and  the  United  States. 
They  were  first  introduced  into  our  own  country  by  the  late  Christopher 
Dunn,  Esq.,  of  Albany,  about  twenty-five  years  since.*  Subsequent  import- 
ations have  been  made  by  Mr.  Powel,  of  Philadelphia,  and  various  other 
gentlemen." 

It  is  no  more  than  justice  to  say  that  this  breed  has  never  proved  a  fa- 
vorite with  any  large  class  of  American  farmers.  Our  long,  cold  winters, 
but  more  especially  our  dry,  scorching  summers,  when  it  is  often  difficult 
to  obtain  the  rich,  green,  tender  feed  in  which  the  Leicester  delights — the 
general  want  of  green  feed  in  the  winter,  robs  it  of  its  early  maturity,  and 
even  of  the  ultimate  size  which  it  attains  in  England.  Its  mutton  is  too 
fat,  and  the  fat  and  lean  are  too  little  intermixed,  to  suit  American  taste. 
Its  wool  is  not  very  salable,  from  the  much  to  be  regretted  dearth  of 
worsted  manufactories  in  our  country.  Its  early  decay  and  loss  of  wool 
constitute  an  objection  to  it,  in  a  country. where  it  is  often  so  difficult  to 
advantageously  turn  off  sheep,  particularly  ewes.  But,  notwithstanding 
all  these  disadvantages,  on  rich  lowland  farms,  in  the  vicinities  of  consid- 
erable markets,  it  will  always  probably  make  a  profitable  return. 

The  following  description  of  what  constitutes  the  desirable  characterist- 
ics of  this  breed,  is  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Youatt  :t 

"  The  head  should  be  homless,  long,  small,  tapering  toward  the  muzzle,  and  projecting 
horizontally  forward.  The  eyes  prominent,  but  with  a  quiet  expression.  The  ears  thin, 
rather  long,  and  directed  backward.  The  neck  full  and  broad  at  its  base,  where  it  proceeds 
from  the  chest,  so  that  there  is,  with  the  slightest  possible  deviation,  one  continued  horizon- 
tal line  from  the  rump  to  the  poll.  The  breast  broad  and  full ;  the  shoulders  also  broad  and 
round,  and  no  uneven  or  angular  formation  where  the  shoulders  join  either  the  neck  or  the 
hack — particularly  no  rising  of  the  withers,  or  hollow  behind  the  situation  of  these  bones. — 
The  arm  fleshy  through  its  whole  extent,  and  even  down  to  the  knee.  The  bones  of  the 
leg  small,  standing  wide  apart ;  no  looseness  of  skin  about  them,  and  comparatively  bare  of 
wool.  The  chest  and  barrel  at  once  deep  and  round  ;  the  ribs  forming  a  considerable  arch 
from  the  spine,  so  as  in  some  cases,  and  especially  when  the  animal  is  in  good  condition,  to 
make  the  apparent  width  of  the  chest  even  greater  than  the  depth.  The  barrel  ribbed  well 
home  ;  no  irregularity  of  line  on  the  back  or  belly,  but  on  the  sides ;  the  carcass  very  grad- 
ually diminishing  in  width  toward  the  rump.  The  quarters  long  and  full,  and,  as  with  the 
fore  legs,  the  muscles  extending  down  to  the  hock ;  the  thighs  also  wide  and  full.  The  legs 
of  a  moderate  length ;  the  pelt  also  moderately  thin,  but  soft  and  elastic,  and  covered  with 
a  good  quantity  of  white  wool — not  so  long  as  in  some  breeds,  but  considerably  finer." 

THE  SOUTH  DOWN. — "  This  breed  of  sheep  has  existed  for  several  centu- 
ries in  England,  on  a  range  of  chalky  hills  called  the  South  Downs.  They 
were,  as  recently  as  1776,  small  in  size,  and  of  a  form  not  superior  to  the 
common  wooled  sheep  of  the  United  States.  Since  that  period,  a  course  of 
judicious  breeding,  pursued  by  one  man  (Mr.  Ellman,  of  Glynde,  in  Sussex), 
has  mainly  contributed  to  raise  this  variety  to  its  present  high  degree  of  per- 
fection, and  that,  too,  without  the  admixture  of  the  slightest  degree  of  foreign 
blood.  In  our  remarks  on  this  breed  of  sheep,  it  will  be  understood  that 
we  speak  of  the  pure  improved  family,  as  the  original  stock,  presenting, 
with  trifling  modifications,  the  same  characteristics  which  they  exhibited 
sixty  years  since,  are  yet  to  be  found  in  England — and  as  the  middle 
space  is  occupied  by  a  variety  of  grades,  rising  or  falling  in  value,  as  they 
approximate  to  or  recede  from  the  improved  blood. 

"  The  South- Down  is  an  upland  sheep,  of  medium  size,  and  its  wool, 
which  in  point  of  length  belongs  to  the  middle  class,"  has  been  estimated 
to  rank  with  half-blood  Merino,  and  was  so  estimated  in  my  Report,  quo- 

*  Now  about  35  years  eince.  *  YouaK  c*  %e*o,  p.  110, 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


145 


tations  from  which  constitute  so  large  a  portion  of  this  Letter.  But  both 
subsequent  experience,  and  information  derived  from  other  sources,  have 
convinced  me  of  the  err  meousness  of  this  opinion.  South-Down  wool  is 


SOUTH-DOWN  RAM. 


essentially  different  from  Merino  wool  of  any  grade,  though  the  fibre  in 
some  of  the  finest  fleeces  may  be  of  the  same  apparent  fineness  with  half 
or  one-quarter  blood  Merino. 

The  following  cut  from  Youatt,*  gives  the  microscopic  appearance, 
says  that  gentleman,  of  a  "  prime  specimen  of  picklock  South-Down 
wool,"  1  being  viewed  as  a  transparent, 
and  2  as  an  opaque  object."  The  fibre 
is  -g-J^th  part  of  an  inch  in  diameter. 

The  cups  or  leaves  of  2  "  are  roughened 
irregular,  and  some  of  the  leaves  have  ex-  2 
ceedingly  short  angles,"  but  they  are  far 
sharper,  more  numerous  and  regular  (the 
points  which  give  wool  its  felting  property)  than  in  ordinary  South-Down 
wool.  In  the  latter,  the  cups  are  rounded  and  have  a  "  rhomboidal "  in- 
stead of  that  sharp  and  "hooked"  character  which  distinguishes  the  Me- 
rino and  Saxon. 

South-Down  wool  is  deficient  in  felting  properties.  It  makes  a  "  furzy, 
hairy  "  cloth,  and  is  no  longer  used  in  England,  unless  largely  admixed 
wifn  foreign  wool,  even  for  the  lowest  class  of  cloths. 

The  following  testimony  was  given  by  some  of  the  most  eminent  manu 
facturers,  wool-factors,  staplers,  and  merchants  of  England,  before  the 
Committee  of  the  Rouse  of  Lords  in  1828,  several  times  previously  al- 
luded tc  :  t 


I  See  Biichoff,  TO),  ii.  pp.  145  to  155. 

T 


146  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


Mr.  CHART.ES  BULL,  wool  agent,  Lewes. — "  Formerly  it  [South-Down  wool )  was  used  for 
clothing  purposes  ;  now  it  is  impossible  to  sell  it  lor  that  manufacture ;  .  .  .  it  is  used  for 
oaizes  and  flannels  in  a  very  large  way." 

Mr.  WILLIAM  CUNNINGTON,  wool-stapler,  Wiltshire. — "  The  public  will  not  wear  the 
South-Down  cloths,  they  are  so  very  coarse." 

Mr.  JAMES  FISON,  wool  dealer,  Thetford. — "There  has  been  deterioration  in  the  quality 
of  (South-Down)  wool ;  the  general  weight  of  the  fleece  20  years  ago  was  2  pounds  to  2£, 
and  it  is  now  3  pounds  to  3£,  our  wool  used  to  be  made  into  cloths,  and  returned  into  Nor- 
folk, and  used  by  myself  and  the  agriculturists.  WTe  do  not  get  the  same  cloth  now  ;  neither 
myself  nor  the  farmer  would  wear  it,  because  of  the  deterioration  of  quality." 

Mr.  JAMES  HUBBARD,  wool  agent,  Leeds. — South-Down  wool  is  not  "now  employed  for 
the  purpose  of  making  cloth ;  it  has  been  forced  down  two  or  three  steps  in  the  scale  of  wool, 
and  is  now  used  for  flannels  and  baize.  ....  The  wool  gets  more  frothy  and  open,  and  in 
manufacturing  it  does  not  felt  and  improve  so  well ;  it  works  more  flannely."  .... 

Mr.  JOHN  BROOKE,  manufacturer,  Howley. — "  Manufacture  principally  blue  cloths  from  7s. 

to  24s.  and  25s.  per  yard,  and  also  narrow  cloths Had  the  Duke  of  Norfolk's  wool,  Mr. 

Ellman,  junior's,  clip  from  1817  and  1822,  and  Mr.  Ellman,  senior's,  from  1817  to  1821 

Kept  to  English  wool  longer  than  any  house  in  the  neighborhood Ceased  to  manufac- 
ture it  entirely  in  1823  or  1824,  ....  found  our  neighbors  were  sending  out  better  cloths 
than  we  were,  not  only  at  the  same  price,  but  better  manufactured  cloths,  and  we  lost  our  cus- 
tomers." 

Mr.  BENJAMIN  CIOTT,  merchant  and  manufactivrer,  Leeds. — "  I  formerly  used  150  packs 
of  English  wool  weekly;  the  disuse  of  English  wool  was  gradual,  commencing  about  tne 
year  1819,  continuing  to  1823  and  1824,  about  which  time  1  began  to  manulacture  exclu- 
sively from  foreign  wool.  The  disuse  of  English  wool  arose  from  the  quality  and  the  ad- 
vantage of  using  foreign  wool  compared  with  our  own.  I  could  not  now  make  an  article 
which  would  be  merchantable  at  all  for  the  foreign  market,  (that  remark  applies  equally  to 
the  home  trade,)  in  certain  descriptions  of  cloth,  except  of  foreign  wool."  .  .  .  These  wools 
(the  domestic  and  foreign,)  "  have  different  properties." 

Mr.  WILLIAM  IRELAND,  Blackwell  Hall  factor,  London. — "  We  have  been  using  English 
wool  for  second  and  livery  cloths,  but  recently  they  have  been  so  very  much  lowered  in 
quality  we  have  not  been  able  to  make  use  of  them  at  all,  and  have  been  obliged  to  make 
use  of  low  German  and  low  Spanish  wools  for  that  purpose." 

Mr.  J.  SUTCLIFFE,  wool-stapler,  Huddersfield. — "  South-Down  wool  was  formerly  ap- 
plied for  making  cloth  for  home  consumption  regularly,  for  the  clothing  of  servants,  &c.  ll 
was  also  used  for  army  clothing.  It  is  now  no  longer  used  for  those  purposes.  It  makes  a 
furzy,  soft,  hairy  piece ;  it  has  not  that  fastness  in  it  that  foreign  wool  has." 

Many  other  individuals  testify  to  the  same  effect,  and  the  extremely  low 
character  of  South-Down  wool  for  carding  purposes  maybe  regarded  as 
definitely  settled.  But  as  it  has  deteriorated  it  has  increased  in  length  of 
staple  in  England,  and  to  such  an  extent  that  improved  machinery  enables 
it  to  be  used  as  a  combing  wool — for  the  manufacture  of  worsteds.  Where 
this  has  taken  place  it  is  quite  as  profitable,  in  England,  as  when  it  was 
finer  and  shorter.  In  the  United  States,  where  the  demand  for  combiner- 
wool  is  so  small  that  it  is  easily  met  by  a  better  article,  perhaps  thi 
would  not  be  the  case.  And  it  may  be  problematical  whether  the  proper 
combing  length  will  be  easily  reached,  or  at  least  maintained  in  this  coun- 
try, in  the  absence  of  that  high  feeding  system  which  has  undoubtedly 
given  the  wool  its  increased  length  in  England.* 

The  average  weight  of  fleece  in  the  hill-fed  sheep  is  3  Ibs. ;  on  rich 
lowlands  a  little  more.  Mr.  John  Ellman,  Jr.,  testified  before  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  House  of  Lords  that  he  was  then  "  keeping  his  sheep  better 
than  formerly — fattening  them,  which  rendered  the  fleece  heavier — that 
they  then  averaged  about  3  Ibs.  of  wool."t  "  But  the  Down  is  cultivated 
more  particularly  for  its  mutton,  which  for  quality  takes  precedence  of  all 
other"  (from  sheep  of  good  size)  "  in  the  English  markets.  Its  early  maturity 
and  extreme  aptitude  to  lay  on  flesh,  render  it  peculiarly  valuable  for  thfs. 
purpose.  The  Down  is  turned  off  at  two  years  old,  and  its  weight  at  that 
c.ge  is,  in  England,  from  80  to  100  Ibs.  High  fed  wethers  have  reached 

*  Nearly  or  quite  every  individual  who  testifies  to  the  deterioration  find  increased  length  of  the  South 
Down  wool  before  the  Lord'a  Committee,  assign  this  as  the  cause  of  the  change. 
Biechoff,  vol.  ii.,  v.  lift 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


147 


from  32  to  even  40  Ibs.  a  quarter !  Notwithstanding  its  weight,  the 
Down  has,  in  the  language  of  Mr.  Youatt,  a  patience  of  occasional  short 
keep,  and  an  endurance  of  hard  stocking,  equal  to  any  other  sheep.  This 
gives  it  a  decided  advantage  over  the  bulkier  Leicester,  Lincolns,  &c.,  as 
a  mutton  sheep,  in  hilly  districts  and  those  producing  short  and  scanty 
herbage.  It  is  hardy  and  healthy,  though  in  common  with  the  other  Eng- 
lish varieties  much  subject  to  the  catarrh  or  "  snuffles,"  and  no  sheep  bet- 
ter withstands  our  American  winters.  The  ewes  are  prolific  breeders  and 
good  nursers.  The  Down  is  quiet  and  docile  in  its  habits,  and  though  an 
industrious  feeder,  exhibiting  little  disposition  to  rove."  Like  the  Leices- 
ter, it  is  comparatively  a  short-lived  animal,  and  the  fleece  continues  to 
decrease  in  weight  after  it  reaches  maturity.  It  crosses  better  with  short 
and  middle  wooled  breeds  than  the  Leicester.  "  A  sheep  possessing  such 
qualities  must  of  course  be  valuable  in  upland  districts  in  the  vicinity  of 
markets.  They  have  been  introduced  into  every  part  of  the  British  Do- 
minions, and  imported  into  various  other  countries.  The  Emperor  of 
Russia  paid  Mr.  Ellman  three  hundred  guineas  for  two  rams,  and  in  1800 
4  a  ram  belonging  to  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  was  let  for  one  season  at  eighty 
guineas,  two  others  at  forty  guineas  each,  and  four  more  at  twenty-eight 
guineas  each/  These  valuable  sheep  were  introduced  into  the  Uniten 
States  a  few  years  since  by  Col.  J.  H.  Powell,  of  Philadelphia,  and  a  smal) 
number  was  imported  by  one  of  the  members  of  this  Committee  in  1834. 
The  last  were  from  the  flock  of  Mr.  Ellman,  at  a  cost  of  $60  ahead.  Sev- 
eral other  importations  have  since  taken  place." 

The  ram  and  ewe,  the  portraits  of  which  are  given,  are  the  descendants 
of  the  importation  of  Francis  Rotch,  Esq.,  alluded  to  in  the  preceding- 
paragraph.  They  are  most  spirited  likenesses,  and  were  kindly  furnished 
me  by  that  gentleman,  to  accompany  this  Letter.  They  are  exceedingly? 


SOUTH-DOWN  KWK. 


characteristic  of  the  Ellman  stock.     Not  so  large  as  the  later  importations' 
of  Mr.  Rotch  from  the  celebrated  flock  of  Mr.  Webb,  they  are,  in   t!>f 


148 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE   SOUTH. 


opinion  of  that  gentleman,  as  well  as  in  my  own,  a  more  beautifully 
formed  and  not  less  profitable  animal.  For  compactness — great  weight  iu 
a  small  compass — they  are  perhaps  unrivaled. 

The  following  is  the  description  of  the  perfect  South-Down  by  Mr.  Ell- 
man,  the  founder  of  the  improved  breed  : 

"  The  head  small  and  hornless ;  the  face  speckled  or  gray  and  neither  too  long  nor  t«»n 
short ;  the  lips  tnm,  and  the  space  between  the  nose  and  the  eyes  narrow;  the  under  jaw 
or  chap  fine  aha  thin  ;  the  ears  tolerably  wide  and  well  covered  with  wool,  and  the  fore- 
bead  also,  and  the  whole  space  between  the  ears  well  protected  by  it,  as  a  defence  against 

44  The  eye  full  and  bright  but  not  prominent.  The  orbits  of  the  eye,  the  eye-cap  or  boue 
not  too  projecting,  that  if  may  not  form  a  fatal  obstacle  in  lambing. 

44  The  neck  of  a  medium  length,  thin  toward  the  head,  but  enlarging  toward  the  shoul- 
ders, where  it  should  l>e  broad  and  high  and  straight  in  its  whole  course  above  and  below. 
The  breast  should  be  wide,  deep,  and  projecting  forward  between  the  fore-legs,  indicating  a 
i(ood  constitution  and  a  disposition  to  thrive.  Corresponding  with  this,  the  shoulders  should 
be  on  a  level  with  the  back,  and  not  too  wide  above :  they  should  bow  outward  from  the 
top  to  the  breast,  indicating  a  springing  rib  beneath,  and  leaving  room  for  it. 

44  The  ribs  coming  out  horizontally  from  the  spine,  and  extending  far  backward,  and  the 
L-ist  rib  projecting  more  than  others,  the  back  fiat  from  the  shoulders  to  the  setting  on  of 
the  tail ;  the  loin > broad  and  flat;  the  rump  broad  and  the  tail  set  on  high,  and  nearly  on 
u  level  with  the  spine.  The  hips  wide;  the  space  between  them* and  the  last  rib  on  ei- 
ther side"  as  narrow  as  possible,  and  the  ribs  generally  presenting  a  circular  form  like  u 
barrel. 

"  The  belly  as  straight  as  the  back. 

41  The  legs  neither  too  long  nor  too  short ;  the  fore-legs  straight  from  the  breast  to  the  foot 
not  bending  inward  at  the  knee,  and  standing  far  apart  both  before  and  behind ;  the  hock 
having  a  direction  rather  outward,  and  the  twist,  or  the  meeting  of  the  thighs  behind,  being 
particularly  full,  the  bones  fine,  yet  having  no  appearance  of  weakness,  and  of  a  speckled  or 
dark  color. 

The  belly  well  defended  with  wool,  and  the  wool  coming  down  before  and  behind  to  the 
knee  and  to  the  hock  ;  the  wool  short,  close,  curled  and  fine,  and  free  from  spiry  projecting 
fibres  " 


THE  COTS  WOLD  SHEEP. 

The  above  cut  is  copied  from  one  in  Mr.  Spooner's  work  on  Sheep— 
e  original  drawing  being  by  Harvey. 
The  Ootswolds,  until   improved  by  modern  crosses,  were  a  very  large, 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


coarse,  long-legged,  flat-ribbed  variety,  light  in  the  fore-quarter — shearing 
a  long,  heavy,  coarse  fleece  of  wool.  They  were  hardy,  prolific  breeders 
and  capital  nurses.  They  were  deficient  in  early  maturity,  and  did  not 
possess  feeding  properties  equaling  those  of  the  Down  or  New  Leicester; 
To  a  cross  with  the  latter  variety  we  owe  the  modern  or  improved  Cots- 
wold.  Having  had  no  personal  experience  with  the  breed,*  I  prefer 
quoting  the  descriptions  of  the  later  standard  English  writers,  to  the  task 
of  compilation. 

The  following  is  from  Spooner  :  t 

"  The  Cotswold  is  a  large  breed  of  sheep,  with  a  long  and  abundant  fleece,  and  the  ewes 
are  very  prolific  aud  good  nurses.  Formerly  they  were  bred  only  on  the  hills,  and  fatted 
in  the  valleys,  of  the  Severn  and  the  Thames ;  but  with  the  inclosure  of  the  Cotswold 
Hills  and  the  improvement  of  their  cultivation  they  have  been  reared  and  fatted  in  the 
same  district.  They  have  been  extensively  crossed  with  the  Leicester  sheep,  by  which 
their  size  and  fleece  have  been  somewhat  diminished,  but  their  carcasses  considerably  im- 
proved, and  their  maturity  rendered  earlier.  The  wethers  are  now  sometimes  fattened 
at  14  months  old,  when  they  weigh  from  15  Ibs.  to  24  Ibs.  per  quarter,  and  at  two  yeanu 
old  increase  to  20  Ibs.  or  30  Ibs.  The  wool  is  strong,  mellow,  and  of  good  color,  though 
rather  coarse,  G  to  8  niches  in  length,  and  from  7  Ibs.  to  8  Ibs.  per  fleece.  The  superior 
hardihood  of  the  improved  Cotswold  over  the  Leicester,  and  their  adaptation  to  common 
treatment,  together  with  the  prolific  nature  of  the  ewes  and  their  abundance  of  milk,  have 
rendered  them  in  many  places  rivals  of  the  New  Leicester,  and  have  obtained  for  them, 
of  late  years,  more  attention  to  their  selection  and  general  treatment,  under  which  man- 
agement still  farther  improvement  appears  very  probable.  They  have  also  been  used  in 
crossing  other  breeds,  and,  as  before  noticed,  have  been  mixed  with  the  Hampshire  Downs. 
It  is,  indeed,  the  improved  Cotswold  that,  under  the  term  New  or  Improved  Oxfordshire 
Sheep,  are  so  frequently  the  successful  candidates  for  prizes  offered  for  the  best  long-wooled 
sheep  at  some  of  the  principal  agricultural  meetings  or  shows  in  the  Kingdom.  The  quality 
of  the  mutton  is  considered  superior  to  that  of  the  Leicester,  the  tallow  being  less  abundant, 
with  a  larger  development,  of  muscle  or  flesh.  We  may,  therefore,  regard  this  breed  as  one 
of  established  reputation,  and  extending  itself  throughout  every  .district  of  the  Kingdom." 

Of  the  method  of  crossing  between  the  Cots  wolds  and  Leicester,  Mr. 
Youatt  remarks  :J 

"  The  degree  to  which  the  cross  may  be  carried  must  depend  upon  the  nature  of  the  old 
stock,  aud  on  the  situation  and  character  of  the  farm.  In  exposed  situations,  and  somewhat 
scanty  pasture,  the  old  blood  should  decidedly  prevail.  On  a  more  sheltered  soil,  and  on 
land  that  will  bear  closer  stocking,  a  greater  use  may  be  made  of  the  Leicester.  Another 
circumstance  that  will  guide  the  fanner  is  the  object  that  he  principally  has  in  view.  If  he 
expects  to  derive  his  chief  profits  from  the  wool,  he  will  look  to  the  primitive  Cotswolds  ; 
if  he  expects  to  gain  more  as  a  grazier,  he  will  use  the  Leicester  ram  more  freely." 

Cotswold  sheep  of  good  quality  have  been  imported  into  the  United 
States  by  Messrs.  Corning  &  Sotham,  of  Albany,  and  are  now  bred  by 
the  latter  gentleman.  I  believe  there  were  several  earlier  importations—- 
but of  their  dates  or  particulars  I  am  not  advised. 

THE  CHEVIOT  SHEEP. — Sheep  of  this  breed  have  been  imported  into  my 
immediate  neighborhood,  and  were  subject  to  my  frequent  inspection  for  two 
or  three  years.  They  had  the  appearance  of  small  Leicesters,  but  were  con- 
siderably inferior  in  correctness  of  proportions  to  high-bred  animals  of  that 
variety.  They  perhaps  more  resemble  a  cross  between  the  Leicester  and 
the  old  "  native  "  or  common  breed  of  the  United  States.  Their  fleeces  were 
too  coarse  to  furnish  a  good  carding  wool — too  short  for  a  good  combing  one. 
Mixed  with  a  smaller  lot  of  better  wool,  their  this  year's  clip  sold  for  29 
cents  per  pound,  while  my  heavier  Merino  fleeces  sold  for  42  cents  per 
pound.  They  attracted  no  notice,  and  might  at  any  time  have  been 
bought  of  their  owner  for  the  price  of  common  sheep  of  the  same  weight. 
I  believe  the  flock  was  broken  up  and  sold  to  butchers  and  others  this 
spring,  after  shearing.  They  were  certainly  inferior  to  the  description  of 
the  breed  by  Sir  John  Sinclair,  even  in  1792,  quoted  by  Mr.  Youatt, |j  and 

*  With  every  breed  previously  described,  I  have  had  ample  personal  experience.  I  have  merely  seen 
Cotewold  flocks.  t  Q.  *.,  p.  99.  J  Q.  ».,  p.  340.  ||  Q.  t>.,  pp.  285,  28G. 


.50 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


had  all  the  defects  attributed  to  the  original  stock  by  Cully.*    They  might 
not,  however,  have  been  favorable  specimens  of  the  breed. 

On  the  steep,  storm-lashed  Cheviot  Hills,  in  the  extreme  North  of  Eng 
»and,  this  breed  first  attracted  notice  for  their  great  hardiness  in  resisting 


CHEVIOT  EWK. 

cold  and  feeding  on  coarse  heathery  herbage.  A  cross  with  the  Leices- 
ter, pretty  generally  resorted  to,  constitutes  the  improved  variety.  The 
characteristics  of  the  Leicester  are  quite  evident  in  the  portrait  of  the 
Cheviot  Ewe,  above,  copied  from1  Mr.  Youatt. 

Professor  Low  thus  speaks  of  the  result  of  this  cross  : 

"  The  Cheviot  breed  amalgamates  with  the  Leicester,  and  a  system  of  breeding  has  been 
extensively  introduced  for  producing  the  first  cross  of  this  descent.  The  rams  employed  are 
of  the  pure  Leicester  breed,  and  the  progeny  is  superior  in  size,  weight  of  wool,  and  tenden- 
cy to  fatten,  to  the  native  Cheviot.  .  .  .  The  benefit,  however,  may  be  said  to  end  with  the 
first  cross,  and  the  progeny  of  this  mixed  descent  is  greatly  inferior  to  the  pure  Leicester 
in  form  and  fattening  properties,  and  to  the  pure  Cheviot  in  hardiness  of  constitution. 

Of  the  improved  Cheviot  Mr.  Spooner  says  : 

"  This  breed  has  greatly  extended  itself  throughout  the  mountains  of  Scotland,  and  in 
many  instances  supplanted  the  Black-faced  breed  ;  but  the  change,  though  in  many  cases  ad- 
vantageous, has  in  some  instances  been  otherwise,  the  letter  being  somewhat,  hardier,  and 
more  capable  of  subsisting*  on  heathy  pasturage.  They  are,  however,  a  hardy  nice,  well 
wilted  for  their  native  pastures,  bearing  with  comparative  impunity  the  storms  of  winter, 
and  thriving  well  on  poor  keep.  Though  less  hardy  than  the  black-faced  sheep  of  Scotland, 
they  are  more  profitable  as  respects  their  feeding,  making  more  flesh  on  an  equal  quantity 
of  food,  and  making  it  quicker.  They  have  white  faces  and  legs,  open  countenances,  lively 
eyes,  without  horns.  The  f»ars  are  large,  and  somewhat  singular,  and  there  is  much  space 
between  the  ears  and  eyes.  The  carcass  is  long ;  the  back  straight ;  the  shoulders  rather 
bght ;  the  ribs  circular ;  and  the  quarters  good.  The  legs  are  small  in  the  b&ne  and  cov- 
ered wit\i  wool,  as  well  as  the  body,  with  the  exception  of  the  face.  The  Cheviot  welher 
is  fit  for  the  butcher  at  three  years  old,  and  averages  from  12  Ibs.  to  18  Ibs.  per  quarter — tho 
mutton  being  of  a  good  quality,  though  inferior  to  the  South-Down,  and  of  less  flavor  than 
ihe  Black-faced The  Cheviot,  though  a  mountain  breed,  is  quiet  and  docile,  and  ea- 
sily managed.  The  wool  \»fme,  (?)  closely  covers  the  body,  assisting  much  in  preserving  it 

*  H«e  Cully  on  Liva  Stock,  p.  150. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  151 

from  the  effects  of  wet  and  cold  ;  the  fleece  averaging  about  3£  Ibs.  Formerly  the  wool  was 
extensively  employed  for  making  cloths,  but  having  given  place  to  the  finer  Saxony  wools, 
it  has  sunk  in  pr-ice,  and  been  confined  to  combing  purposes.  It  has  thua  become  altogether 
a  secondary  consideration."  .  .  . 

If  Mr.  Spooner  is  not  made  to  say  that  the  wool  is  "  fine  "  by  an  omis- 
sion of  qualifying  words,  or  some  other  misprint,  his  ideas  of  fineness  must 
be  singular  indeed  !  The  South-Down  wool,  rejected  for  carding  pur- 
poses, is  several  shades  finer  than  the  Cheviot!  The  latter  is  of  aboutthe 
quality  of  Leicester,  the  number  of  serrations  about  the  same,  and,  saya 
Mr.  Youatt,  speaking  of  the  microscopic  appearance  of  the  wool,  "  the 
derivation  of  the  breed  (from  the  Leicester)  is  well  illustrated  by  the 
formation  of  the  fibre." 

Mr.  John  Varley,  manufacturer,  of  Stanningley,  near  Leeds,  thus  testi- 
fied before  the  Lords'  Committee  :* 

"  I  attribute  the  low  pi-ice  of  Cheviot  wool  to  deterioration ;  it  is  deteriorated  very  much 
in  point  of  hair ;  it  was  formerly  the  fashion  of  the  day  for  Cheviot  wool  to  be  worn  as  cloth  ; 

it  is  not  the  fashion  now.     It  is  not  fit  to  make  fine  cloths,  as  it  was  then The  wool 

is  grown  coarser  and  longer,  and  only  fit  to  make  low  coatings  and  flushings." 

This  is  confirmed  by  the  testimony  of  other  witnesses  before  the  Com- 
mittee; and  Mr.  Youatt  on  the  same  subject  remarks,!  ''that  the  wool  is 
inferior  to  the  South-Down." 

BROAD-TAILED  ASIATIC  AND  AFRICAN  SHEEP. — I  allude  to  the  Broad- 
tailed  race  of  sheep,  not  from  any  high  estimate  which  I  place  upon  their 
value,  but  because  they  constitute  one  of  the  breeds  now  existing  in  a 
state  of  purity  in  the  United  States. 

Some  "  Tunisian  Mountain  Sheep  "  were  received  by  Col.  Pickering 
when  abroad,  and  were  distributed  by  him  in  Pennsylvania.!  They  are 
highly  spoken  of  by  Col.  Powell  as  a  cross  with  the  Dishley  and  South- 
Down.  They  have,  I  believe,  long  since  become  extinct. 

It  was  Commodore  Porter,  I  think,  who,  you  informed  me,  sent  home 
some  of  the  Broad-tailed  sheep  of  Asia,  obtained  from  Smyrna,  pure- 
blooded  descendants  of  which  yet  exist  in  South  Carolina.||  I  have  care- 
fully examined  the  specimens  of  wool  of  the  full  blood  and  the  grades  of 
this  variety  forwarded  by  you.  No.  3,  taken  from  the  skin  of  a  full-blood, 
is  8  inches  long,  pure  white,  consisting  of  coarse  hairs,  uneven  in  their 
length  and  diameter — the  same  hair  of  uneven  diameter  in  different  parts 
of  it,  and  the  whole  intermixed  for  about  4  inches  from  the  roots,  with  a 
fine,  downy  or  cottony  wool.  No.  2,  about  3J  inches  long  from  the  side 
of  a  three-fourths  blood  ram,  is  much  everier  in  quality,  with  no  hairs  a« 
coarse  or  wool  as  fine  as  in  No.  3.  It  contains  some  jarr,  or  short,  sharp- 
pointed  hairs,  and  is  a  dry,  and,  I  should  judge,  rather  unworkable  wool, 
not  well  adapted  to  either  carding  or  combing.  No.  1,  from  thigh  of  same 
animal,  is  8  inches  long,  resembles  No.  3,  but  not  so  great  a  distinction 
between  the  hair  arid  the  wool.  No.  4,  from  a  three-fourths  blood  4-year- 
old  ewe,  is  about  2  inches  long,  contains  a  few  colored  hairs,  resembles 
No.  2,  but  is  somewhat  coarser.  All  these  samples  are  destitute  of  yolk, 
and  apparently  come  from  loose,  light,  dry,  open  fleeces.  Tht>y  do  not 
strike  me  as  wools  which  could  be  as  profitably  cultivated  as  many  others, 
for  any  objects  or  under  any  circumstances. 

If  the  object  is  mutton  instead  of  wool,  it  seems  to  me  that  a  better  se- 
lection can  be  made,  from  some  of  the  English  breeds — which  intermingle 

*  Bischoff,  vol  ii,  p.  144.  Mr.  Youatt  quotes  the  substance  of  the  above,  and  fully  sustains  Mr.  Varley'* 
riews.  t  Q.  ».,  p.  2*5. 

t  See  Essay  on  Various  Breeds  of  Sheep,  by  Col.  John  Hare  Powell,  published  in  the  Memoirs  of  th* 
Board  of  Agriculture  of  the  State  of  New- York,  vol.  iii.,  p.  377,  (1826.) 

H  In  Letter  Vth  I  inadvertently  spoke  of  these  as  a  large  breed  of  eheep.  They  are  not  above  medium 
•ize,  or  rather,  may  be  eaid  to  be  a  smallish  race. 


[52  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

their  fat  and  muscle  in  such  a  manner  as  to  render  both  palatable,  instead 
of  depositing  a  greatly  disproportioned  share  of  the  former  in  one  luscious 
mass,  forming  an  impediment  to  breeding,  and  an  unsightly  appendage  in 
the  eye  of  the  breeder. 

All  the  different  varieties  of  the  Broad-tailed  and  Fat-rumped  sheep 
will  be  found  described  in  Youatt,  and  I  will  not  now  consume  your  time 
with  them. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  15? 


LETTER  XI. 

THE  MOST  PROFITABLE  BREED  OF  SHEEP  FOR  THE  SOUTH.— PRINCIPLES 

OF  BREEDING. 

Breeds  should  be  adapted  to  the  circumstances  of  a  Country... Circumstances  requiring  a  Mutton  Sheep 
. .  .Comparison  between  Mutton  Sheep — The  South-Downs,  Leicesters  and  Cotswolds. .  -How  far  the  Feed 
Markets,  &c.,  of  the  South  demand  such  breeds... What  breed  of  Sheep  will  give  the  greatest  value  of 
Woo\  from  the  feed  of  an  acre  ?..  .Comparative  Consumption  and  Wool  Product'of  the  Mutton  breeds  and 
the  Merino— Other  Expenses — Comparative  Hardiness,  &c...  A  pound  of  fine  wool  can  be  grown  as  cheaply- 
as  a  pound  of  coarse — worth  more  for  marketer  for  consumption..  .The  Mutton  of  the  Merino  and  it* 
Crosses. .  .What  sub-variety  of  the  Merino  best  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  South  ?..  .Review  of  the  Hi* 
rory  of  Wool-Growing  and  the  Wool  Markets  since  ] 824 . . . Tariff's  and  Prices.. -Injudicious  course  of  the 
Manufacturers — Have  discouraged  the  growth  of  tine  wool  and  encouraged  that  of  medium  and  coarse. .. 
A  surplus  of  medium  wools,  and  a  bare  or  abort  supply  of  fine. .  Manufacturers  now  in  the  power  of  fine 
wool  growers..  Interest  of  the  Manufacturers  to  encourage  the  growth  of  fine  wools  by  paying;  better 
prices— are  beginning  to  do  so— will  be  compelled  to  continue  this  course... Will  the  North  furnish  th« 
increasing  demand  ? — No — Reasons... Fine  wool  in  every  point  of  view  more  profitable  than  coarse  for- 
cultivation  in  the  South...  Comparison  between  Merinos  and  Saxons...  Crosses  between  them... Point* 
which  constitute  excellence  in  a  Merino — proper  size — per  centage  of  wool  to  live- weight — shape  and  gen- 
eral appearance — skin — wrinkles... The  wool — what  parts  it  should  cover— itff  gum — length  and  weight  of 
fleece — evenness — style— softness — serration — manner  of  opening,  &c . . .  Principles  of  breeding. . .  In  and-iti 
breeding. ..Crossing. ..English  Crosses  with  the  Merino... Views  of  Mr.  Livingston  concerning  the  use  of 
cross-bred  rams— of  the  French  breeders— of  the  author...  Great  importance  of  starting  a  flock  with  choicw 
rams — with  different  strains  of  blood. 

Dear  Sir :  No  one  breed  of  sheep  combines  the  highest  perfection  in  all 
those  points  which  give  value  to  this  race  of  animals.  One  is  remarkable 
for  the  weight,  or  early  maturity,  or  excellent  quality  of  its  carcass,  white 
it  is  deficient  in  quality  or  quantity  of  wool ;  and  another  which  is  valu- 
able for  wool,  is  comparatively  deficient  in  carcass.  Some  varieties  will 
flourish  only  under  certain  conditions  of  feed  and  climate,  while  others 
are  much  less  affected  by  those  conditions,  and  will  subsist  under  the; 
greatest  variations  of  temperature,  and  on  the  most  opposite  qualities  of 
verdure. 

In  selecting  a  breed  for  any  given  locality,  we  are  to  take  into  consid- 
eration first,  the  feed  and  climate,  or  the  surrounding  natural  circum- 
stances ;  and,  second,  the  market  facilities  and  demand.  We  should  then 
make  choice  of  that  breed  which,  with  the  advantages  possessed,  and  un- 
der all  the  circumstances,  will  yield  the  greatest  net  value  of  marketable 
product. 

Rich  lowland  herbage,  in  a  climate  which  allows  it  to  remain  green 
duiing  a  large  portion  of  the  yeai,  is  favorable  to  the  production  of  large 
carcasses.  If  convenient  to  markets  where  mutton  finds  a  prompt  sale 
and  good  prices,  then  all  the  conditions  are  realized  which  call  for  a  mut- 
ton, as  contradistinguished  from  a  wool-producing  sheep.  Under  such  cir- 
cumstances, the  choice  should  undoubtedly,  in  my  judgment,  rest  between 
the  improved  English  varieties — the  South-Down,  the  New  Leicester,  and 
the  improved  Cotswold  or  New  Oxfordshire  sheep.  In  deciding  between 
these,  minor  and  more  specific  circumstances  are  to  be  taken  into  account. 
If  we  wish  to  keep  large  numbers,  the  Down  will  herd*  much  better  than 
the  two  larger  breeds  ;  if  our  feed,  though  generally  plentiful,  is  liable  to 
be  shortish  during  the  drouths  of  summer,  and  we  have  not  a  certain  sup- 
ply of  the  most  nutritious  winter  feed,  the  Down  will  better  .enduie  occa- 
sional short  keep :  if  the  market  calls  for  a  choice  and  high-flavored  mut 
ton,  the  Down  possesses  a  decided  superiority.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  wt 

*  That  is,  remain  thriving  and  healthy  when  kept  together  in  large  number* 


154  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

wish  to  keep  but  few  in  the  same  inclosure,  the  large  breeds  will  be  as 
healthy  as  the  Downs  ;  if  the  pastures  be  wettish  or  marshy,  the  former 
will  better  subsist  on  the  rank  herbage  which  usually  grows  in  such  situa- 
tions ;  if  they  do  not  afford  so  fine  a  quality  of  mutton,  they,  particularly 
the  Leicester,  possess  an  earlier  maturity,  and  both  give  more  meat  for 
'.he  amount  of  food  consumed,  and  yield  more  tallow. 

The  next  point  of  comparison  between  the  Long  and  Middle  wooled 
families,  is  the  value  of  their  wool.  Though  not  the  first  or  principal  ol> 
ject  aimed  at  in  the  culture  of  any  of  these  breeds,  it  is,  in  this  country, 
an  important  item  or  incident  in  determining  their  relative  profitableness. 
The  American  Leicester*  yields  about  6  Ibs.  of  long,  coarse,  combing  wool; 
the  Cotswold  something  more,  but  this  perhaps  counterbalanced  by  other 
considerations  ;  the  Down  from  3  Ibs.  to  4  Ibs.  of  a  low  quality  of  carding 
wool.  None  of  these  wools  are  very  salable,  at  remunerating  prices,  in 
the  American  market.  Both  will  become  more  so,  as  manufactures  of 
worsted,  and  of  flannels  and  baizes,  increase.  The  difference  in  the  weight 
of  fleeces  between  the  breeds  is,  per  sc,  a  less  important  consideration  than 
would  first  appear,  and  for  reasons  which  will  be  given  when  I  speak  of 
the  connection  between  the  amount  of  wool  produced  and  the  food  con- 
sumed, by  sheep. 

Of  the  Cheviots  I  have  taken  no  notice  in  this  connection,  as  they  are 
obviously  inferior  to  the  preceding  breeds,  except  in  a  capacity  to  endure 
rigorous  weather,  and  to  subsist  on  heathy  herbage.  No  part  of  the 
South  has  a  climate  too  severe  for  the  more  valuable  races,  and  its  grasses 
and  other  esculents,  wherever  found,  and  as  far  as  they  go,  are,  making 
the  proper  allowances  for  wet  and  dry  lands,  highly  palatable  and  nutri- 
tious to  all  the  varieties  which  respectively  feed  in  such  situations. 

Under  the  natural  and  artificial  circumstances  already  alluded  to,  which 
Burround  Sheep  Husbandry  in  many  parts  of  England — where  the  fattest 
and  grossest  quality  of  mutton  is  consumed  as  almost  the  only  animal  food 
of  the  laboring  classes — the  heavy,  early  maturing  New  Leicester,  and  the 
still  heavier  New  Oxfordshire  sheep,  seem  exactly  adapted  to  the  wants 
of  producer  and  consumer,  and  are  of  unrivaled  value.  To  depasture 
poorer  soils — sustain  a  folding  system — and  furnish  the  mutton  which  sup- 
plies the  tables  of  the  wealthy — the  South-Down  is  an  equal  desideratum. 

Have  we  any  region  in  our  Southern  States,  where  analogous  circum- 
stances demand  the  introduction  of  similar  breeds  1  The  climate,  so  far  as 
its  effect  on  the  health  is  concerned,  is  adapted  to  any,  even  the  least 
hardy  varieties  ;  but  not  so  its  effects  on  the  verdure  on  which  they  are  to 
subsist.  The  long,  scorching  summers,  so  utterly  unlike  those  of  England, 
leave  the  grass  on  lands  stocked  heavily  enough  for  profit,  entirely  too 
dry  and  short  for  the  heavy,  sluggish  Long  Wools.  This  is  particularly 
true  in  the  tide-water  zone.  Mutton,  too,  sheeted  over  externally  with 
three  or  four  inches  of  solid  fat,t  even  if  it  could  be  made  acceptable  to 
the  slave,  in  lieu  of  his  ration  of  bacon — a  thing  more  than  doubtful — 
would  never  find  any  considerable  market  off  from  the  plantation.  So  far 
as  the  supply  of  feed  is  concerned,  the  above  remarks  apply,  though  not 
equally,  to  the  South-Down.  It  will  live  and  thrive  where  the  Long  Wools 
would  dwindle  away,  but  it  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  heavy  im- 

*  I  use  the  word  "  American  "  Leicester,  because  it  is  notorious  that  this,  as  well  as  the  Cotawold — and 
*}.llhe  other  heavy' Knglish  varieties,  soon  lose  in  the  weight  of  their  fleeces  when  subjected  to  the  clirnnto 
and  the  (best  ordinary)  system  of  feeding  in  the  United  States.  I  should  except,  perhaps,  a  few  highly 
pampered  animals. 

t  Five  and  even  six  inches  of  solid  fat.  on  the  rib,  is  not  uncommon  in  England.  In  the  Cotswolds  the 
fet  and  lean  are  more  intermixed,  and  the  mutton  ie  cf  a  better  quality  ;  but  it  would  be  considered  ez* 
wrcly  too  luscious  and  tallowy  by  Americans. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


proved  South-Down  will  subsist,  and  attain  its  proper  weight  and  fatness, 
on  very  poor  or  very  scant  herbage.  The  old  unimproved  variety  would, 
like  some  other  smallish  and  hardy  races,  obtain  a  living  on  keep  as.  poor 
as  that  which  grew  on  the  lightest  and  thinnest  soils  of  Sussex.  Moulded 
by  the  hand  of  Ellman,  and  other  breeders,  to  better  fulfill  the  conditions 
of  a  mutton  sheep,  in  size  and  other  particulars,  they  demand  that  in- 
creased supply  of  food  which  the  formation  of  additional  fat  and  muscle 
require.  Retaining  some  of  the  properties  of  the  parent  stock,  they  are 
less  sluggish,  and  bear  travel  better  than  the  Long  Wools  ;  but  with  them 
as  with  the  latter,  and  all  other  animals,  much  or  prolonged  exercise  in 
pursuit  of  food  or  otherwise,  is  unfavorable  to  obesity.  Men,  and  par- 
ticularly owners,  in  advocating  the  claims  of  this  breed  and  that,  seem  not 
unfrequently  to  forget  that  the  general  physical  laws  which  control  in  the 
development  of  all  the  animal  tissues  as  well  as  functions,  are  uniform. 
Better  organs  will  doubtless  make  a  better  appropriation  of  animal  food  ; 
and  they  may  be  taught,  so  to  speak,  to  appropriate  it  in  particular  direc- 
tions —  in  one  breed,  more  especially  to  the  production  of  fat  —  in  another, 
of  muscle  or  lean  meat  —  in  another,  wool.  But,  cccteris  paribus,  largo 
animals  will  always  require  more  food  than  small  ones.  Animals  which 
are  to  be  carried  to  a  high  state  of  fatness  must  have  plentiful  and  nutri- 
tious food,  and  they  must  exercise  but  little  in  order  to  prevent  the  unne- 
cessary "  combustion  v  in  the  lungs,  of  that  carbon  which  forms  more  than 
seven-tenths  of  their  fat.  No  art  of  breeding  can  countervail  these  estab- 
lished laws  of  Nature. 

Again,  there  are  no  facilities  in  the  South  for  marketing  large  quantities 
of  mutton  —  of  a  tithe  of  that  which  would  be  annually  fitted  for  the  sham- 
bles, were  Sheep  Husbandry  introduced  to  anything  like  the  extent  I  have 
recommended,  and  with  the  mutton  breeds  of  sheep.  With  few  cities  and 
large  villages  —  with  a  sparse  population  —  with  an  agricultural  population 
the  greatest  drawback  on  whose  pecuniary  prosperity  is  their  inability  to 
market  their  own  surplus  edibles  —  not  a  particle  of  rational  doubt  can  ex- 
ist on  this  point.  True,  I  have  expressed  the  opinion  that,  both  as  a  mat- 
ter of  healthfulness  and  economy,  mutton  should  be  substituted  for  a  moi- 
ety of  the  bacon  used  on  the  plantation;  but  with  such  a  change,  in  a 
country  so  exclusive1  y  agricultural,  each  landholder  would  raise  his  own 
supply,  and  thus  no  market  be  created.  It  may  then  be  regarded  as  a  set- 
tled point  that  the  production  of  wool  is  the  primary,  the  great*  object  of 
Southern  Sheep  Husbandry. 

In  instituting  a  comparison  between  breeds  of  sheep  for  wool-growing 
purposes,  I  will,  in  the  outset,  lay  down  the  obviously  incontrovertible 
proposition  that  the  question  is  not  what  variety  will  shear  the  heaviest  or 
even  the  most  valuable  fleeces,  irrespective  of  the  cost  of  production.  — 
Cost  of  feed  and  care,  and  every  other  expense,  must  be  deducted,  to  fairly 
test  the  profits  of  an  animal.  If  a  large  sheep  consume  twice  as  much  food 
as  a  small  one,  and  give  but  once  and  a  half  as  much  wool,  it  is  obviously 
more  profitable,  other  things  being  equal,  to  keep  two  of  the  smaller  sheep. 
The  true  question  then  is,  with  the  same  expense  in  other  particulars,  From 
wliat  breed  will  the  verdure  of  an  acre  of  land  produce  the  greatest  value  of 
wool  ? 

Let  us  first  proceed  to  ascertain  the  comparative  amount  of  food  con- 
sumed by  the  several  breeds.  There  are  no  satisfactory  experiments 
which  show  that  breed,  in  itself  considered,  has  any  particular  influence  on 
the  quantity  of  food  consumed.  It  is  found,  with  all  varieties,  that  the  con- 
sumption is  in  proportion  to  the  live  weight  of  the  (grown)  animal.  Of 
course,  this  rule  is  not  invariable  in  its  individual  application,  but  its  gen- 


L56  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

eral  soundness  has  been  satisfactorily  established.  Spooner  states  that 
grown  sheep  take  up  3J  per  cent,  of  their  weight  in  what  is  equivalent  to 
dry  hay  per  day,  to  keep  in  store  condition.  Veit  places  the  consumption 
at  2J  per  cent.  My  experience  would  incline  me  to  place  it  about  midway 
between  the  two.  But  whatever  the  precise  amount  of  the  consumption, 
if  it  is  proportioned  to  the  weight,  it  follows  that  if  an  acre  is  capable  of 
sustaining  three  Merinds  weighing  100  Ibs.  each,  it  will  sustain  but  two 
Leicesters  weighing  150  Ibs.  each,  and  two  and  two  fifths  South-Downs 
weighing  125  Ibs.  each.  Merinos  of  this  weight  often  shear  5  Ibs.  per 
fleece,  taking  flocks  through.  The  herbage  of  an  acre,  then,  would  give 
15  Ibs.  of  Merino  wool,  and  but  12  Ibs.  of  Leicester,  and  but  9f  Ibs.  of 
South-Down  (estimating  the  latter  as  high  as  4  Ibs.  to  the  fleece) !  Even 
the  finest  and  lightest  fleeced  sheep  ordinarily  known  as  Merinos,  average 
about  4  Ibs.  to  the  fleece,  so  that  the  feed  of  an  acre  would  produce  as 
much  of  the  highest  quality  of  wool  sold  under  the  name  of  Merino,  as  it 
would  of  New  Leicester,  and  more  than  it  would  of  South-Down !  The 
former  would  be  worth  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  per  cent,  more  per  pound 
than  either  of  the  latter  !  Nor  does  this  indicate  all  the  actual  difference, 
*as  I  have,  in  the  preceding  estimate,  placed  the  live-weight  of  the  English 
breeds  low,  and  that  of  the  Merino  high.  The  live-weight  of  the  four- 
pound  fine-fleeced  Merino  does  not  exceed  90  Ibs.  It  ranges  from  80  to 
90  Ibs.,  so  that  300  Ibs.  of  live-weight  would  give  a  still  greater  product 
of  wool  to  the  acre.*  I  consider  it  perfectly  safe  to  say  that  the  herbage 
of  an  acre  will  uniformly  give  nearly  double  the  value  of  Merino,  that  it  will 
of  any  of  the  English  Long  or  Middle  wools. 

The  important  question  now  remains,  What  are  the  other  relative  ex- 
penses of  these  breeds  1  I  speak  from  experience  when  I  say  that  the 
Leicester!  is  in  no  respect  a  hardier  sheep  than  the  Merino — indeed,  it  is 
my  firm  conviction  that  it  is  less  hardy,  under  the  most  favorable  circum- 
stances. It  is  more  subject  to  colds,  and  I  think  its  constitution  breaks  up 
more  readily  under  disease.  The  lambs  are  more  liable  to  perish  from  ex- 
posure to  cold,  when  newly  dropped.  Under  unfavorable  circumstances- 
herded  in  large  flocks,  pinched  for  feed,  or  subjected  to  long  journeys — 
its  capacity  to  endure,  and  its  ability  to  rally  from  the  effects  of  such  draw- 
backs, do  not  compare  with  those  of  the  Merino.  The  high-bred  South- 
Down,  though  considerably  less  hardy  than  the  unimproved  parent  stock, 
is  still  fairly  entitled  to  the  appellation  of  a  hardy  animal.  In  this  respect 
I  consider  it  just  about  on  a  par  with  the  Merino.  I  do  not  think,  how- 
ever, it  will  bear  as  hard  stocking  as  the  latter,  without  a  rapid  diminution 
in  size  and  quality.  If  the  peculiar  merits  of  the  animal  are  to  be  taken 
into  account  in  determining  the  expenses — and  I  think  they  should  be — 
the  superior  fecundity  of  the  South-Down  is  a  point  in  its  favor,  as  well 
for  a  wool-producing  as  a  mutton  sheep.  The  South-Down  ewe  not  only 
frequently  yeans  twin  lambs,  as  do  both  the  Merino  and  Leicester,  but  she 
possesses,  unlike  the  latter,  nursing  properties  to  do  justice  by  them.  But 
this  advantage  is  fully  counterbalanced  by  the  superior  longevity  of  the 
Merino.  All  the  English  mutton  breeds  begin  to  rapidly  deteriorate  in 
am  unt  of  wool,  capacity  to  fatten,  and  in  general  vigor,  at  about  5  years 
old  and  their  early  maturity  is  no  offset  to  this,  in  a  sheep  kept  for  wool- 
growing  purposes.  This  early  decay  would  require  earlier  and  more  -rapid 
slaughter  or  sale  than  would  always  be  economically  convenient,  or  even 
possible,  in  a  region  situated  in  all  respects  like  the  South.  It  is  well,  on 

*  It  is  understood  that  all  of  these  live-weights  refer  to  eves  in  fair  ordinary,  or  what  is  called  Btor* 
condition, 
t  I  apeak  of  fuil-blood  I,ci;ester8.    Some  of  its  crosses  are  much  hardier  than  the  pure  bred  sheep. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

properly  stocked  farms,  to  slaughter  or  turn  ofFthe  Merino  wether 'at  four 
or  live  years  old,  to  make  room  for  the  breeding  stock ;  but  he  will  not 
particularly  deteriorate,  and  he  will  richly  pay  the  way  with  his  fleece,  for 
several  years  longer.  Breeding  ewes  are  rarely  turned  off  before  eight, 
and  are  frequently  kept  until  ten  years  old,  at  which  period  they  exhibit 
no  greater  marks  of  age  than  do  the  Down  and  Leicester  at  jive  or  six.-— 
I  have  known  instances  of  Merino  ewes  breeding  uniformly  until  15  years 
old  !  Tbe  Improved  Cotswold  is  said  to  be  hardier  than  the  Leicester; 
but  I  have  said  less  of  this  variety,  throughout  this  entire  Letter,  as  from 
their  great  size*  and  the  consequent  amount  of  food  consumed  by  them, 
and  the  other  necessary  incidents  connected  with  the  breeding  of  so  large 
animals,  the  idea  of  their  being  introduced  as  a  wool-growing  sheep  any- 
where, and  particularly  on  lands  grassed  like  those  of  the  South,  is,  in  my 
judgment,  utterly  preposterous.  There  is  one  advantage  which  all  the 
coarse  races  of  sheep  have  over  the  Merino.  Either  because  their  hoofs 
do  not  grow  long  and  turn  under  from  the  sides,  as  do  those  of  the  Meri- 
no, and  thus  hold  dirt  and  filth  in  constant  contact  with  the  foot,  the  coarse 
races  are  less  subject  to  the  visitations  of  the  hoof-ail,  and,  when  contract- 
ed, it  spreads  with  less  violence  and  malignity  among  them.  Taking  all 
the  circumstances  connected  v/ith  the  peculiar  management  of  each  race, 
and  all  the  incidents,  exigencies,  and  risks  of  the  husbandry  of  each  fairly 
into  account,  I  am  fully  convinced  that  the  expenses,  other  than  those  of 
feed,  are  not  smaller  per  capita,  or  even  in  the  number  required  to  stock 
an  acre,  in  either  of  the  English  breeds  above  referred  to,  than  in  the  Me- 
rino. Nor  should  I  be  disposed  to  concede  even  equality,  in  these  respects, 
to  either  of  those  English  breeds,  excepting  the  South-Down. 

You  write  me,  Sir,  that  many  of  the  South  Carolina  planters  are  under 
the  impression  that  coarse  wools  will  be  most  profitably  grown  by  them, 
first,  because  there  is  a  greater  deficit  in  the  supply,  and  they  are  better 
protected  from  foreign  competition;  and,  secondly,  because  they  furnish 
the  raw  material  for  so  great  a  portion  of  the  woolens  consumed  in  the 
South.  Each  of  these  premises  is  true,  but  are  the  conclusions  legitimate  ] 
Notwithstanding  the  greater  deficit  and  better  protection,  do  the  coarse 
wools  bear  as  high  a  price  as  the  fine  ones  ?  If  not,  they  are  not  as  profit- 
able, for  I  have  already  shown  that,  it  costs  no  more  to  raise  a  pound  of 
coarse  than  a  pound  of  fine  wool.  Nay,  a  pound  of  medium  Merino  wool 
can  be  raised  more  cheaply  than  a  pound  of  the  South-Down,  Leicester, 
or  Cotswold  !  This  I  consider  clearly  established. 

Grant  that  the  South  requires  a  much  greater  proportion  of  coarse  than 
of  fine  wool,  for  her  own  consumption.  If  a  man  needing  iron  for  his  own 
consumption,  wrought  a  mine  to  obtain  it,  in  which  he  should  happen  to 
find  gold  equally  accessible  and  plentiful,  would  it  be  economical  in  him 
to  neglect  the  more  precious  metal  because  he  wanted  to  use  the  iron  ?  or 
should  he  dig  the  gold,  obtain  the  iron  by  exchange,  and  pocket  the  differ- 
ence in  vakie  ]  Would  it  be  economical  to  grow  surplus  wool,  wool  for 
market,  worth  from  25  to  30  cents  per  pound,  when  it  costs  no  more  per 
pound  to  grow  that  worth  from  40  to  45  cents  1  And  even  for  the  home 
want,  for  the  uses  of  the  plantation — for  slave-cloths,  &c. — -fine  wool  is 
worth  more  per  pound  than  coarse  for  actual  wear  or  use  !  Is  this  propo- 
sition new  and  incredible  to  you  1  I  challenge  the  fullest  investigation  of 
its  truth,  through  the  testimony  of  those  familiar  with  the  subject,  or  through 
the  direct  ordeal  of  experiment.  It  is  true  that  a  piece  of  fine  broadcloth 
is  not  so  strong,  nor  will  it  wear  like  a  Chelmsford  plain  of  treble  thick* 

•  I  »w  two  at  the  late  N.  Y.  State  Fair,  at  Saratoga,  which  weighed  over  300  lb«.  each  1 


158  SHEEP  HUSBA1VDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

ness.  -The  threads  of  the  former  are  spun  to  extreme  fineness  to 
mize  the  costly  raw  material.  To  give  it  that  finish  which  is  demanded 
by  fashion — to  give  it  its  beautiful  nap — these  threads  are  still  farther  re- 
duced by  "gigging"  and  "shearing."  But  spin  fine  wool  into  yarn  as 
coarse  as  that  used  in  Chelmsfords,  awd  manufacture  it  in  the  same  way, 
and  it  would  make  a  far  stronger  and  more  durable  cloth.  The  reasons 
are  obvious.  Merino  wool  is  decidedly  stronger  than  the  English  coarse 
Long  aTid  Middle  wools — or  any  other  coarse  wools — in  proportion  to  its 
diameter  or  bulk.  It  felts  far  better,  and  there  is  therefore  a  greater  co- 
hesion between  the  different  fibres  of  the  same  thread,  and  between  the 
different  threads.  It  is  also  more  pliable  and  elastic,  and  consequently  less 
subject  to  "  breaking"  and  abrasion. 

Unless  the  views  I  have  advanced  are  singularly  erroneous,  it  will  be 
seen  that,  for  wool-growing  purposes,  the  Merino  possesses  a  marked  and 
decided  superiority  over  the  best  breeds  and  families  of  coarse-wooled 
sheep.  As  a  mutton  sheep,  it  is  inferior  to  some  of  those  breeds,  but  not 
so  much  so  as  it  is  generally  reputed  to  be.  If  required  to  consume  the 
fat  and  lean  together,  many  who  have  never  tasted  Merino  mutton,  and 
who  have  an  unfavorable  impression  of  it,  would,  I  suspect,  find  it  more 
palatable  than  the  luscious  and  over-fat  New  Leicester.  The  mutton  of 
the  cross  between  the  Merino  and  "  Native "  sheep  would  certainly  be 
preferred  to  the  Leicester,  by  anybody  but  an  English  laborer  used  to  the 
latter.  It  is  short-grained,  tender,  and  of  good  flavor.  The  same  is  true 
of  the  crosses  with  the  English  varieties.  These  will  be,  hereafter,  more 
particularly  alluded  to.  Grade  Merino  wethers  (say  half-bloods)  are  favor- 
ites with  the  Northern  drover  and  butcher.  They  are  of  good  size — ex- 
traordinarily heavy  for  their  apparent  bulk* — make  good  mutton — tallow 
well — and  their  pelts,  from  the  greater  weight  of  wool  on  them,  command 
an  extra  price.  They  would,  in  my  opinion,  furnish  a  mutton  every  way 
suitable  for  plantation  consumption,  and  one  which  would  be  well  accept- 
ed in  the  Southern  markets. 

In  speaking  of  the  Merino  in  this  connection,  I  have  in  all  cases,  unless 
it  is  distinctly  specified  to  the  contrary,  had  no  reference  to  the  Saxons — 
though  they  are,  as  it  is  well  known,  pure-blooded  descendants  of  the 
former. 

Assuming  it  now  as  a  settled  point,  that  it  is  to  the  Merino  race  that  the 
wool-grower  must  look  for  the  most  profitable  sheep,  let  us  now  proceed 
to  inquire  which  of  the  widely  varying  sub-varieties  of  this  race  are  best 
adapted  to  the  wants  and  circumstances  of  the  South.  A  brief  glance  at 
the  history  of  wool-growing,  and  of  the  wool  markets,  for  the  last  few 
years,  will  form  an  useful  preliminary  inquiry,  and  will  assist  us  materially 
in  arriving  at  a  correct  conclusion. 

On  the  introduction  of  the  Saxons,  about  twenty-four  years  since,  they 
were  sought  with  avidity  by  the  holders  of  the  fine-wooled  flocks  of  the 
country,  consisting  at  that  time  of  pure  or  grade  Merinos.  The  Tariff  of 
1824  imposed  a  duty  of  20  per  cent,  on  wools  costing  above  10  cents  per 
pound,  gradually  rising  to  30  per  cent.,  and  15  per  cent,  on  those  costing 
less  than  10  cents.  Foreign  woolen  cloths  t  were  subject  to  an  ad  valorem 
duty  of  30  per  cent,  until  June  30th,  1825,  and  after  that  it  was  raised  to  33J 
per  cent.  The  Tariff  of  1828  immediately  raised  the  duty  on  all  wools  to  40 
per  cent,  ad  valorem  and  4  cents  per  pound  specific  duty,  and  5  per  cent, 
was  to  be  annually  added  to  the  ad  valorem  duty,  until  it  should  reach  5C 

»  On  account  of  the  shortness  of  their  wool,  compared  with  the  coarse  breeds. 

t  Where  I  use  the  word  "  cloths  "  here  snd  in  the  statements  of  the  different  Tariffs  which  follow,  yo» 
•HI  understand  that  I  do  not  include  carpetings,  t'aaketa,  worsted  stuff  goods.  &c. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


159 


per  cent,  (in  1831.)  The  duty  on  woolen  cloths  was  also  raised  (after  June, 
1829)  to  45  per  cent.,  and  that  exceeding  $4  the  square  yard  to  50  per 
cent.  Under  the  decisive  encouragement  offered  to  both  the  wool- 
grower  and  manufacturer  by  this  Act,  a  great  impetus  was  given  to  the 
production  of  the  finest  wools,  and  the  Saxons  everywhere  rapidly  su- 
perseded, or  bred  out  by  crossing,  the  Spanish  Merinos.  The  latter  dis- 
appeared almost  entirely  from  New-York  and  New-England.  In  the 
fine-wool  mania  which  ensued,  weight  of  fleece,  constitution,  and  every- 
thing else,  were  sacrificed  to  the  quality  of  the  wool.  The  Tariff  of  1832 
imposed  a  40  per  cent,  ad  valorem  and  4  cents  per  pound  specific  duty  on 
wools  costing  over  8  cents  ;  and.it  raised  the  duty  on  all  broadcloths  to  50 
per  cent.  It  made  wools  costing  less  than  8  cents  per  pound  free  of  duty. 
The  "  Compromise  "  Tariff  of  1S$3  commenced  a  system  of  progressive 
reductions  until  the  maximum  rate  of  duties  should  not  exceed  20  per 
cent.  The  following  Table  will  give  the  duties  of  each  year,  on  wool 
and  cloths,  under  this  Act,  estimating  the  ad  valorem  and  specific  duties 
on  wools  exceeding  8  cents,  together  in  an  average  per  centage  :* 

TABLE  14. 


Perct 
ad  val. 

1833. 

1835. 

1837. 

1839. 

1841. 

1842. 

Wool  costing  less  than  8  cents  per  pound  ) 

free. 

free. 

free. 

free. 

free. 

free. 

20 

54 

50-60 

47-20 

43-80 

40-40 

30-20 

20 

Woolen  cloths  

50 

47 

44 

41 

38 

29 

20 

The  Tariff  of  1841  struck  out  the  20  per  cent,  duty  on  the  8  cent  wools. 
The  Tariff  of  1842  again  imposed  an  ad  valorem  duty  of  5  per  cent,  or 
wools  costing  seven  cents  or  under,  and  raised  it  on  the  higher  wools  to  30 
pel1  cent,  ad  valorem  and  3  cents  per  pound  specific  duty,  and  on  cloths  to 
40  per  cent,  ad  valorem.  The  Tariff  of  1846  established  an  ad  valorem 
duty  of  30  per  cent,  on  all  wools,  and  on  cloths.  By  referring  to  Table 
7,  Letter  V.,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  prices  of  wool  have  not  been  controlled 
by  *V.3  amount  of  the  protection,  They  reached  their  maximum  in  1836, 
and  then  fell  off,  not  again  to  rally,  (except  during  the  single  year  1839) — 
not  again  to  reach  40  cents — until  1844.  Why  was  this  1  What  pro- 
duced the  sudden  depreciation  of  1837  ]  The  Tariffs  of  1828  arid  1832 
gave  too  muck  protection  to  both  wool-grower  and  manufacturer.  Their 
pursuits  became  the  El  Dorado  of  agricultural  and  mercantile  speculators. 
Skill  without  capital,  and  capital  without  skill,  and  in  some  cases  probably 
thirst  of  gain  without  either,  rushed  into  these  favored  avocations.  The 
bank  inflations  of  the  period  fanned  the  fires  of  speculation,  and  taught 
some  of  the  wisest  commercial  heads  of  the  country  to  forget  the  provi- 
dence that  had  hitherto  distinguished  them.  The  natural  result  followed. 
In  the  financial  crisis  of  1837,  manufacturing,  and  all  other  monetary  en- 
terprises which  had  not  been  conducted  with  skill  and  providence,  and 
which  were  not  based  on  adequate  and  real  capital,  were  involved  in  a 
common  destruction,  and  even  the  solidest  and  best  conducted  institutions 
of  the  country  were  shaken  by  the  fury  of  the  explosion.  Wool  suddenly 
fell  almost  50  per  cent,  (from  54  to  30  cents  per  pound.)  t  In  1838  it  ral- 
lied a  little,  and  in  1839  it  again  reached  50  cents,  but  it  went  down  nearly 
to  the  minimum  point  in  1840.  The  grower  began  to  be  discouraged. 
He  who  bred  the  delicate  Saxons,  (and,  as  I  have  already  said,  they  now 
comprised  the  flocks  of  nearly  all  the  large  wool-growers  in  the  country,) 

*  The  reduction  of  one-tenth  of  the  excess  over  2^  per  cent,  took  place  Dec.  31st.  each  year,  to  1841 ;  then 
one-half  of  the  residue  of  the  excess  ;  and  on  the  30lh  of  June,  1842,  the  other  half  of  eaid  residue  was  de- 
ducted. 

t  The  quality  of  the  wools  here  alluded  to  will  be  found  ppecified  in  a  note  on  the  second  page  of 
Letter  V. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


r/as  iiot  obtaining  the  actual  first  cost  per  pound  of  his  wool.  He  clam 
ored  loudly  for  an  increase  of  duties  on  the  foreign  article,  as  the  reduc- 
tions of  the  "  Compromise  "  Act  were  now  approaching  their  ultimate 
standard — 20  per  cent. — and  he  attributed  the  low  prices  to  this  cause: 
Saxon  wool  continued  low,  and  did  not  pay  its  first  cost  in  1841  and  1842. 
Was  this  due  solely  to  the  reduction  of  the  Tariff"?  A  reference  to  Table 
11  (Letter  IX.)  will  show  that  the  import  of  foreign  woolens  was  less  from 
1836  up  to  and  including  1842,  than  for  the  six  preceding  years  !  Where 
then  was  the  foreign  competition  which  was  driving  the  manufacturer  to 
keep  down  the  price  of  wools  1  The  Tariff  of  1842  raised  the  duty  on 
wool  10  per  cent,  and  added  a  specific  duty  of  3  cents  per  pound  ;  and  it 
raised  the  duty  on  cloths  from  20  to  40  per  cent.  The  import  of  foreign 
woolens  sunk,  the  succeeding  year,  to  a  lower  point  than  it  had  touched 
since  1821,  and  in  1844  and  1845  it  did  not  reach  the  average  of  the  six 
years  preceding  the  enactment  of  the  Tariff  of  1842.  A  reference  to 
Table  9  (Letter  IX.)  will  show  that  the  import  of  foreign  fine  wools  also 
largely  fell  off.  This  coincided  with  the  expectations  of  the  advocates  of 
a  higher  Tariff,  but  another  and  equally  legitimate  expectation  entertained 
by  the  great  body  of  Northern  wool-growers — that  they  were  to  share  in 
the  benefits  arising  from  the  exclusion  of  foreign  competition — was  sig- 
nally disappointed.  The  Tariff  of  1842  was  enacted  on  the  30th  day  of 
August,  and  part  of  the  clip  of  that  year  was  sold  under  its  operation. 
Wool  sold  that  year  loicer  than  it  had  for  the  five  preceding  years,  viz.,  for 
30  cents.  The  next  year  it  advanced  one  penny  !  General  discourage- 
jnent  now  seized  upon  the  growers  of  fine  wool  The  market  was  not 
overstocked — foreign  competition  was  light,  but  still  they  could  not  sell 
their  wool  for  its  first  cost !  To  add  to  their  mortification,  the  manufac- 
turer, by  a  most  short-sighted  policy,  would  scarcely  make  a  discrimina- 
tion of  6d.  per  pound  between  Saxon  wool  and  medium  Merino  and  grade 
wools  weighing  nearly  twice  as  much  to  the  fleece.  If  the  grower  of  me- 
dium wool  got  25  cents  per  pound  for  fleeces  weighing  4  Ibs. — thus  real- 
izing $1  per  fleece — the  ordinary  Saxon  grower  would  get  but  30  cents 
per  pound  for  fleeces  weighing  2^  Ibs.,  and  thus  realize  but  75  cents  !  * 
When  the  Saxon  growers  found  that  the  Tariff  of  '42  brought  them  no 
relief,  they  began  to  give  up  their  costly  and  carefully  nursed  flocks.  The 
example,  once  set,  became  conlagious,  and  there  was  a  period  when  it 
hoemed  as  if  all  the  Saxon  sheep  of  the  country  would  be  sacrificed  to 
this  reaction.  Many  abandoned  wool-growing  altogether,  at  a  heavy  sacri- 
fice of  their  fixtures  for  rearing  sheep.  Others  crossed  with  coarse-wooled 
breeds,  and  rushing  from  one  extreme  to  the  other,  some  even  crossed 
with  the  English  mutton  breeds  !  Some  more  judiciously  went  back  to 
the  parent  Merino  stock,  but  usually  they  selected  the  heaviest  and 
coarsest  wooled  Merinos,  and  thus  materially  deteriorated  the  character  of 
their  wool.  As  the  preceding  period  had  been  distinguished  by  its  mania 
(or  fine  wool,  this  was,  by  its  mania  for  heavy  fleeces  /f  The  English 
crosses,  however,  were  speedily  abandoned.^  The  Merino  regained  his 

*  And  though  the  larger,  stronger  sheep,  bearing  the  medium  wool,  would  ent  more,  it  was  far  hardier, 
required  less  protection  and  care  of  every  kind,  and  would  increase  more  rapidly — circumstances  which 
would  far  more  than  counterbalance  its  excess  of  consumption 

t  I  make  no  claim  of  having  possessed  greater  sagacity  or  foresight  in  these  particulars  than  the  mass  of 
breeders.  I  b^gan  with  the  Merino.  These  I  crossed  with  the  Saxon,  and  I  also  bred  the  pure-blood  Sax- 
ens  for  several  years.  Unsatisfied  with  these,  I  made  some  experiments  with  the  English  mutton  breeds, 
tioth  as  pure  bloods  and  crosses.  Finding  none  of  them  equal  to  the  Merino  as  a  wool-producing  sheep,  I 
returned  to  the  latter,  and  I  bred  for  heavy  fleeces  until  the  manufacturers  saw  fit  to  make  a  juster  discrim- 
ination in  the  prices  paid  by  them  for  the  different  qualities  of  wool. 

tl  mean  by  those  who  sought  to  improve  their  fine-wooled  flocks  by  an  English  croes.  English  and  all 
other  t  oaree-wooled  sheep  are  immensely  and  rapidly  improved,  for  wool-growing  purposes,  by  a  propel 
fine  w«.  )led  cross,  as  1  have  already  and  shall  again  have  occasion  to  mention. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  16l 


supremacy,  lost  for  nearly  twenty  years,  and  again  became  the  populai 
favorite.  It  was  generally  adopted  by  those  who  were  commencing  flocks 
in  the  new  Western  States,  and  gives  its  type  to  the  sheep  of  those  re- 
gions. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  preceding  facts  that  the  supply  of  fine  wool* 
has  proportionably  decreased,  and  that  of  medium  and  coarse  increased. 
This  has  driven  the  manufacturers  to  make  a  juster  discrimination  in 
prices.  They  now  realize  that  their  own  short-sighted  economy  has  been 
all  but  fatal  to  fine  wool-growing  in  the  United  States.  And  they  cannot 
but  feel  that  in  destroying  this  interest,  they  destroy  themselves.  Our 
manufacturers  are  not  so  miserably  blind  as  to  dream  of  drawing  their  raw 
material  from  foreign  countries — of  paying  an  import  duty  of  30  per  cent, 
and  then  competing  with  the  English  manufacturer  who  pays  an  import  duty 
not  exceeding  two  pence  per  pound !  It  is  doubtful,  in  my  mind,  whether 
the  home  supply  will  not  fall  considerably  short  of  the  home  demand  for 
fine  \voo\for  this  year  !\  The  point  has  been  already  reached  where  but 
a  little  more  discouragement,  or  a  little  longer  continued  discouragement, 
would  have  banished  these  wools  from  the  country !  So  far,  the  manufac- 
tories have  not  felt  this  evil,  for  they  have  not  been  compelled  to  import. 
Neither  pampered  nor  persecuted  by  the  Tariff  of  1846 — called  for  by  the 
consumption  of  the  country — with  solid  capital  and  greater  experience 
and  skill  at  their  command — they  are  rapidly  increasing,  and  rising  on  a 
solider  basis  than  ever  before.  So,  to  sustain  our  manufacturing  interest, 
(that  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  fine  cloths,)  it  is  absolutely  necessary 
that  the  diminution  of  fine  wools  be  not  only  immediately  arrested,  but 
that  the  growth  of  them  be  immediately  and  largely  increased.  These 
facts  now  first  beginning  to  be  clearly  appreciated  by  the  manufacturer — 
will  deter  him  from  resorting  to  his  former  suicidal  policy.  Instances  have 
recently  come  to  my  knowledge  of  manufacturers  offering  to  contract 
with  fine-wool  growers  for  their  entire  clips,  for  a  term  of  years,  at  an  ad- 
vance on  present  prices — prices,  be  it  remembered,  higher  than  they  have 
been  except  for  two  years  (1839  and  1844)  since  the  overthrow  of  1837. 
Should  the  manufacturer,  however,  again  forget  his  own  interest,  the  fine- 
wool  grower  has  it  in  his  power  to  teach  it  to  him  most  effectually.  In- 
stead of  being  discouraged  and  driven  from  the  business,  he  has  but  to 
withhold  his  wools  for  a  season — say  for  a  few  months,  to  compel  the  for- 
mer to  import  wools  at  a  ruinous  cost — stop  his  machinery,  or  pay  fail- 
prices  at  home  !  I  believe  in  no  combinations  to  control  prices.  Some- 
thing far  better  than  vague  report,  however,  says  that  several  of  the  large 
manufacturing  establishments  of  New-England  employed  the  same  agents, 
last  season,  to  buy  much,  if  not  all  of  their  wools — and  that  these  wools 
were  subsequently  divided  by  bidding  or  otherwise,  among  the  parties  to 
the  transaction !  Is  this  denied  ?  I  think  it  will  not  be  denied.  If 
this  was  so,  what  was  it  but  a  combination  to  control  prices  1 1  But  whether 

*  To  make  myself  clearly  understood,  I  will,  in  the  remarks  which  follow,  classify  wools  as  follows  :  fit- 
ptrjine.,  the  choicest  quality  of  wool  grown  in  the  United  States,  and  never  grown  here  excepting  in  com. 
paratively  small  quantities  ;  fine,  good  ordinary  Saxon  ;  good  medium,  the  highest  quality  of  wool  usually 
known  in  the  market  as  Merino;  medium,  ordinary  Merino;  ordinary,  crade  Merino  and  perhaps  selected 
South-Down  fleeces  ;  coarse,  the  English  long  wools.  &c.  This  subdivision  is  not  minute  enough,  by  any 
means,  to  express  fully  the  number  of  well-defined  classes  which  exist  in  wool.  A  farther  multiplication 
of  them  here,  however,  I  have  thought  would  only  tend  to  confusion. 

t  The  position  has  been  all  alonj:  taken  that  the  general  supply  was  under  the  demand,  but  the  deficit 
hitherto  has  been  principally  in  medium  and  coarse  wools.  See  Table  9,  Letter  JX 

J  And  before  leaving  this  point,  I  will  ask  another  question  :  Why  were  most  of  the  wools  of  New- York 
and  New-Encland  untouched  and  unlooked  at  by  the  agents  of  the  manufacturers  this  year,  contrary  to 
•11  preceding  customs  for  two  or  three  months  subsequently  to  shearing?  These  same  agents  flocked  in 
droves  to  the  Western  States  and  bought  up  their  entire  clip  immediately  after  sr  earing,  while  «-eporta 
vrere  constantly  coming  back  that  this  manufactory  and  that  had  purchased  its  entire  supply  for  a  year,  or 
perhaps  two  years  ?  Was  this  because  the  Eastern  growers  demanded  exorbitant  prices  t  Wts  it  because 
anything  like  an  approach  to  a  supply  of  fine  wools  could  be  found  in  the  West  1  Or  wa«  it  ttd  result  of  a 

X 


162  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

so  or  not,  when  we  compare  the  profits  which  have  inured  to  the  growers 
and  manufacturers  of  fine  wool  for  the  last  few  years,  it  behooves  the  for- 
mer both  to  speak  and  act  decidedly.  Their  interests  have  been  sacrificed 
long  enough  !  But  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  grower  of  these  wools  will 
not  be  hereafter  driven  to  the  alternative  of  either  suffering  himself,  or  of 
defending  himself  by  retaliatory  measures.  Some  few  of  the  manufac- 
turers have  always,  I  believe,  taken  a  high  and  liberal  course.  Enough 
others,  as  already  remarked,  now  see  the  necessity  of  such  liberality  to 
prevent  any  combined  or  general  effort  to  depress  prices. 

Will  the  North  again  turn  its  attention  to  the  growth  of  superfine  and 
fine  wools — again  supply  the  demand,  and  keep  up  with  it  as  it  increases  '\ 
Not  unless  stimulated  by  the  inducement  of  extraordinary  profits — not, 
certainly,  against  the  competition  of  the  South.  The  climate  north  of  41°, 
or,  beyond  all  dispute,  north  of  42°,  is  too  severe  for  any  variety  of  sheep 
commonly  knoivn,  which  bear  either  of  these  classes  of  wools.  In  fact,  the 
only  such  variety,  in  anything  like  general  use,  is  the  Saxon ;  and  this  is 
a  delicate  sheep,  entirely  incapable  of  safely  withstanding  our  Northern 
winters,  without  good  shelter,  good  and  regularly  administered  food,  and 
careful  and  skillful  management  in  all  other  particulars.  "When  the  season 
is  a  little  more  than  usually  backward,  so  that  grass  does  not  start  prior  to 
the  lambing  season,  it  is  difficult  to  raise  the  lambs  of  the  mature  ewes — 
the  young  ewes  will  in  many  instances  disown  their  lambs,  or,  if  they  own 
them,  not  have  a  drop  of  milk  for  them ;  and  if  in  such  a  crisis,  as  it  often 
happens,  a  north-east  or  north-west  storm  comes  driving  down,  bearing 
snow  or  sleet  on  its  wings,  or  there  is  a  sudden  depression  of  the  temper- 
ature from  any  cause,  no  care  will  save  multitudes  of  lambs  from  perish- 
ing.* And  it  will  not  do  to  defer  the  time  of  having  them  dropped  to  es- 
cape these  evils,  or  they  will  not  attain  size  and  strength  enough  to  pass 
safely  through  their  first  winter.t  A  few  large  sheepholders,  whose  farms, 
buildings,  etc.,  have  been  arranged  with  exclusive  reference  to  the  rearing 
of  these  sheep,  may  continue  to  grow  fine  wool  until  driven  from  it  ly  the 
competition  of  the  South  ;  but  many  of  these  have  recently  adopted  a 
Merino  cross.  The  ordinary  farmers,  the  small  sheepholders,  who,  in  the 
aggregate,  grow  by  far  the  largest  portion  of  our  Northern  wools,  have  im- 
bibed a  deep-seated  aversion — nay,  a  positive  disgust — against  the  Saxon 
sheep.  They  have  not  the  necessary  fixtures  for  their  winter  protection, 
and  they  are  entirely  unwilling  to  bestow  the  necessary  amount  of  care  on 
them.  Besides,  mutton  and  wool  being  about  an  equal  consideration  with 
this  class  of  farmers,  they  want  larger  and  earlier  maturing  breeds.  But, 
above  all,  they  want  a  strong,  hardy  sheep,  which  demands  no  more  care 
than  their  cattle.  The  strong,  compact,  medium-wooled  Merino — or,  per- 
haps still  more  generally,  its  crosses  with  coarse  varieties,  producing  the 
wool  which  I  have  classified  as  ordinary — will  be  the  general  favorites. — 
The  same  reasons  will  weigh  still  more  strongly  in  the  North-west,  where, 
as  I  have  shown,  the  climate  is  a  still  worse  one  for  delicate  sheep.  All 
these  causes  will  tend  to  swell  the  amount  of  medium,  ordinary  and  coarse 

concerted  movement  to  bring  the  Eastern  grower  into  tnking  last  year's  prices  ?  It  Actually  did  so,  in  ?» 
multitude  of  instances — or,  he  .was  contented  to  receive  the  slightest  advance  on  them  !  This  will  be  found 
true  of  nearly  all  who  sold  goon  after  the  market  opened  in  the  East.  If  not  the  result  of  a  concerted  and 
combined  movement,  tine  pemral  desertion  of  the  Eastern  find  resort  to  the  Western  market  by  the  mauu 
facturers  was  a  most  singular  coincidence  !  These  manufacturers  are  now  fain  to  purchase  Eastern  wools 
at  a  considerable  advance  from  the  prices  of  1846 — and.  as  already  hinted,  it  is  highly  problematical,  in  my 
mind,  whether  they  will  not  be  compelled  to  import  at  a  still  higher  advance,  to  eke  out  »  deficiency  !  It  u 
to  be  hoped  that  this  will  be  the  last  Act  in  the  drama  of  folly  and  suicide  plajed  by  our  manufacturers. 

*  Not  even  in  close  barns,  and  with  constant  attendance. 

t  North  of  latitude  42°,  it  is  necessary,  as  a  general  rule,  that  lambs  be  dropped  in  the  first  half  of  May.  to 
give  them  this  requisite  size  and  strength  Occasional  cold  storms  come  nearly  every  season  up  to  that 
period,  and  not  unfrequently  up  to  the  first  of  June.  Mr.  Grove  was  a  decided  advocate  of  early  lamb*.— 
Be  used  to  say  that  "  it  was  better  to  lose  two  of  them  in  the  spring  ib<ui  one  in  the  full " 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  163 

wools.  Though  the  reaction  has  been  but  recent,  the  market  demand  for 
medium  and  ordinary  wools  is  now  better  supplied — nearer  being  glutted, 
so  far  as  I  am  enabled  to  judge — than  that  for  fine  and  superfine.  And 
should  the  market  become  glutted  w-»th  either  or  both,  it  is  important  to 
remember  that  the  latter  will  be  far  n-iure  profitable  for  export  than  the 
former/ 

Every  consideration,  then,  in  my  judgment,  points  to  wools  ranging  from 
good  medium  upward,  instead  of  the  lower  classes,  as  the  most  profitable 
staples  for  cultivation  in  the  South.  The  only  question  which  now  arises 
on  this  point  is,  from  which  variety,  the  Saxon  or  Merino,  shall  the  South 
attempt  to  cultivate  these  wools  ] 

It  is  generally  supposed,  and  as  a  general  thing  it  is  true,  that  the  Me- 
rino bears  no  better  wool  than  that  which  I  have  classified  as  good  medi- 
um. But  the  measurements  of  Dr.  Emmons  (given  in  Letter  X.)  show, 
by  the  infallible  testimony  of  the  microscope,  that  heavy-fleeced  Merinos 
sometimes  equal — nay,  surpass  Saxons,  in  fineness.  The  fact  is  more  de- 
cisive, as  the  Saxon  fibres  there  measured  came  not  only  from  the  most 
celebrated  flocks — from  the  prize  sheep  at  State  Fairs — but  it  also  came 
from  samples,  in  most  instances,  given  by  the  owners  for  public  exhibition. 
I  do  not  claim  that  Merinos  like  these  are  common.  They  are  rather  to 
be  regarded  in  the  light  of  those  prodigies  of  excellence  which  occasion- 
ally appear,  but  which  it  is  difficult  to  reproduce  with  anything  like  uni- 
formity. Nor  are  lesser  fleeced  Merinos,  bearing  wool  equal  to  ordinary 
Saxon,  very  common.  During  the  Jine  wool  mania,  all,  who  sought  fine 
wool,  bred  the  Saxon  sheep,  or  crossed  with  it ;  and  the  few  who  stood' 
out,  and  clung  to  the  Merino,  generally  aimed  to  distinguish  it  as  widely 
as  possible  from  the  former,  by  increasing  the  weight  of  its  fleece,  to  the1 
disregard  of  its  fineness.  This,  too,  was  the  general  disposition  during  the 
heavy-fleeced  mania.  Of  consequence,  but  very  few  of  our  breeders  have 
ever,  or  until  recently,  sought  a  high  degree  of  fineness  in  fleece  in  breed- 
ing the  Merino.  Recent  experience  has  satisfied  me  that  this  is  rapidly 
attainable.  Mr.  Lawrence,  in  a  quotation  already  made  by  me  (in  Letter 
I.),  says  :  "  I  believe  a  breed  may  be  reared  which  will  give  four  pounds- 
of  exquisitely  fine  wool  to  the  fleece."  I  know  by  multiplied  experiments^ 
that  once  interbreeding  between  an  ewe  bearing  good  medium  wool  (the 
fleece  weighing,  say,  from  4^  Ibs.  to  5  Ibs.),  with  a  Merino  ram  of  suffi- 
ciently high  quality,  will  produce  wool  in  the  offspring  equaling  ordinary 
Saxon,  and  a  fleece  averaging  4  Ibs.,  with  none  of  its  weight  made  up  of 
gum.  The  result  of  two  such  interbreedings  will  bring  the  progeny  of  a 
heavy-fleeced  medium  ewe  (provided  her  fleece  is  properly  even)  to  the 
same  point.  The  four-pound  fine-fleeced  Merino  would  be  a  far  more- 
profitable  animal  than  the  Saxon,  other  things  being  equal.  But  other 
things  are  not  equal.  The  former  is  every  way  a  hardier  animal,  and  a 
better  nurse.  It  is  about  20  Ibs.  heavier,  and  therefore  consumes  more 
feed ;  but  I  consider  this  additional  expense  more  than  counterbalanced 
by  the  additional  care  and  risk  attending  the  husbandry  of  the  Saxon.  If 
required  to  keep  the  number  good,  and  give  the  proper  attention  to  the 
rearing  of  lambs,  I  would  sooner  engage  to  keep,  at  the  same  price,, 
one  thousand  such  Merinos  for  a  year,  than  to  keep  the  same  number  of 
Saxons. 

It  would  be  practicable,  doubtless,  to  increase  the  Saxon's  fleece  to  4 
Ibs. ;  but  any  one,  familiar  with  such  experiments,  knows  that  it  is  far  easio* 
to  increase  fineness  of  wool,  by  diminishing  weight  of  fleece  and  carcass  K 
little,  than  it  is  to  increase  weight  of  fleece  and  carcass  without  lowering 
the  quality  of  the  wool.  And  there  is  this  additional  cbjection  to  the  latter 


164  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


byatero  of  breeding,  so  far  as  the  Saxon  is  concerned.  The  breeder  is  no» 
only  called  upoy  to  increase  the  weight  of  its  fleece  and  carcass,  but  to  en- 
graft on  it  hardiness  of  constitution,  nursing  properties,  etc.,  which  by  no 
meant!  follow,  aa  a  matter  of  course,  its  improvement  in  the  former  partic* 
uiars.  These,  and  particularly  the  latter,  could  only  be  attained,  so  as  to 
be  transmissible  wjtli  a  proper  degree  of  certainty  from  parents  to  offspring, 
by  years  of  bxeeuiiig,  accompanied  by  a  rigorous  course  of  selection.  *If, 
therefore,  you  were  cabled  upon  to  form  a  variety  just  suited  to  your  wants, 
the  Merino  would  present  the  most  ductile  and  the  safest  materials.  But 
the  Southern  agriculturist,  just  entering  upon  sheep-rearing,  would  not  be 
prepared  to  conduct  nice  experiments  in  breeding.  He  wants  a  breed  or 
variety  already  prepared  to  his' hand.  And  for  the  same  reasons,  notwith- 
standing the  fineness  of  hio  climate,  he  wants  a  hardy  breed — one  that  de- 
mands no  extra  skill,  no  gieat  experience,  for  its  management.  Merinos 
reaching  or  closely  approacLiug  the  standard  above  specified  are  now  to 
be  found,  while  there  is  no  corresponding  variety  of  Saxons  ;  and  to  incur 
the  risks  arising  from  inexpeiience,  want  of  preparation,  &c.,  the  superior 
hardiness  of  ihe  former  would,  of  course,  render  them  entirely  prefer- 
able. 

Some  have  recommended  a  cross  between  the  Saxons  and  Merinos,  as  a 
cheap  and  ready  method  of  obtaining  a  four-pound  fine-fleeced  sheep.  A 
properly  selected  Saxon  ram,  crosbed  with  good  medium  and  medium- 
wooled  Merino  ewes,  catting  from  i>  Ibs.  to  5^  Ibs.  of  wool,  will  almost  uni- 
formly produce  this  lesalt.  And  it  is  easier  now  to  get  the  Saxon  than  the 
Merino,  fine  enough  foe  this  purpose.  Or  a  flock  may  be  bred  up  from 
Saxon  ewes  and  a  Merino  ram.  The?  objection  to  both  courses  is  the  same, 
though  not  equal  to  that  which  exisls  against  breeding  the  full-blood  Sax- 
ons— viz.,  the  production  of  a  feeble  and  a  poor  nursing  sheep.  The  latter 
evil,  especially,  clings  for  generations  to  these  cross-bred  animals,  so  far  as 
my  experience  and  observation  have  extended.  And  unless  Saxons  are 
selected  which  do  not  possess  the  characteristic  faults  of  the  variety,  the 
cross-breda-  are  inferior  to  pure-blood  Merinos  in  many  other  and  essential 
particulars,  notwithstanding  the  fleece  may  be  all  that  we  desire. 

There  is  another  important  point  where  the  pure-blood  Merino  possesses 
ti  marked  advantage.  Few  Southern  wool-growers  will  commence  their 
flocks  exclusively  with  high-bred  animate  of  any  kind.  With  a  few  of  them 
to  breed  rams  from,  and  to  gradually  grow  up  a  full-blood  flock,  they  will 
mainly  depend  upon  grading  up  the  common  sheep  of  the  country.  With 
the  long-legged,  bare-bellied,  open-wooled  sheep  common  in  the  South  (as 
it  once  was  in  the  North\  the  Saxon  makca  an  indifferent  cross.  Their 
faults  run  too  much  in  the  same  direction,  in  all  save  the  fineness  of  wool, 
for,  however  good  its  shape,  the  wool  of  the  Saxon  is  comparatively  short 
and  open.  It  therefore  shortens  the  wool  of  the  common  sheep,  without 
adding  much  or  any  to  its  thickness,  and  thus  the  fleece  remains  a  light 
one.  Precisely  all  this  is  the  reverse  of  what  results  from  a  cross  between 
the  Merino  and  the  common  sheep.  The  wool  is  but  little  shortened,  un- 
less the  staple  of  the  common  sheep  was  very  1ongj.it  is  essentially  thick- 
ened ;  it  is  made  to  extend  over  the  belly  ;  the  fleece  is,  therefore,  greatly 
increased  in  weight ;  the  sheep  is  rendered  more  compact  and  "  stocky," 
and  it  is  brought  nearer  to  the  ground.  Even  the  first  cross,  though  its 
fleece  is  somewhat  uneven,  is  a  prime  sheep  for  the  wants  of  ordinary  farm- 
ers, and  among  these  it  is,  accordingly,  a  decided  favorite,  over  the  whole 
Northern  States.  A  majority  of  them  would,  I  think,  give  it  preference 
over  any  other  kind  or  variety  of  sheep.  Two  or  three  more  proper  Me- 
rino crosses  raise  it  to  the  rank  of  a  Jirst-rate  wool-growing  shf<"p — scarcely 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  165 

inferior  to  the  full-blood  Merino  in  anything,  save  that  it  docs  not  transmit 
its  good  qualities  icith  quite  so  much  certainty  to  its  offspring* 

Let  us  now  proceed  to  inquire  what  are  the  points  which  constitute  ex- 
cellence, or  mark  a  departure  from  it,  in  the  class  of  Merino  sheep  which 
I  have  attempted  to  show  form,  in  every  point  of  view,  the  most  suitable 
variety  to  commence  wool-growing  with  in  the  South.  What  should  be  its 
size,  weight  of  fleece,  shape,  general  appearance,  style  of  wool,  &c.  &c.  1 

Size,  within  extremes,  is  not,  per  sc,  a  matter  of  much  consequence. — 
There  should,  however,  be  uniformity  in  this  particular,  at  least  through 
the  same  Hock,  not  only  for  their  good  appearance,  but  larger  sheep  are 
apt,  by  their  superior  strength,  to  crowd  away  small  ones  from  the  rack  or 
trough.  A  sheep  very  small  of  its  breed  and  family,  is  commonly  less  hardy. 
If  very  large,  it  must  travel  farther  to  Jill  itself ;  and,  therefore,  this  would 
be  an  objection  to  it  in  a  breed  designed  to  graze  on  short  and  scant  pas* 
turage — for  the  extra  exercise  thus  made  necessary  would  cause  it  to  waste 
(in  the  form  of  carbon,  in  the  lungs)  a  considerable  portion  of  the  food, 
which  would,  under  other  circumstances,  be  converted  into  animal  tissues. 
Very  large,  like  very  small  animals,  of  the  same  species — and,  I  am  in- 
clined to  think,  the  former  more  frequently — lack  the  robustness,  vigor  of 
muscle,  capacity  to  endure  unusual  and  protracted  exercise,  or  privation 
of  food,  or  any  other  unfavorable  deviation  from  ordinary  habits,  possessed 
by  compact  medium-sized  animals.  This  rule  will  be  found  to  apply  among 
all  domestic  animals.  Lastly,  I  am  not  prepared  to  prove,  but  I  believe 
that,  with  the  same  breeding,  the  woolly,  like  the  osseous  and  muscular  tis- 
sues of  a  large  Merino  sheep,  will  not  be  as  fine  as  those  of  a  smaller  one. 
I  do  not  found  this  opinion,  so  far  as  wool  is  concerned,  upon,  nor  do  1 
claim  that  it  is  supported  by,  any  analogies.  I  state  it  as  solely  the  result 
of  individual  observation.  If  it  is  a  tendency  which  can  be  successfully  re- 
sisted, I  never  have  been  fortunate  enough  to  have  a  sufficient  number  of 
instances  brought  under  my  eye,  in  any  one  flock,  to  have  them  constitute 
anything  more  than  sparse  exceptions  to  what  I  deem  a  well  established 
rule.  I  have  never  known  a  family  of  very  large  Merinos  bearing  anything 
better  than  medium  wool ;  and  the  first  step  to  any  decided  improvement 
in  them  immediately  reduces  their  weight,  for  it  can  only  be  effected  by 
interbreeding  with  finer  and  smaller  families.  Ewes  weighing  from  80  Ibs. 
to  90  Ibs.  alive,  in  good  fair  store  condition,  are  of  about  the  proper  size, 
in  my  judgment,  where  fine  wool  is  the  object.t  Rams  should  weigh  40 
Ibs.  or  50  Ibs.  more.  Ewes  of  the  large  Merino  families  weigh  fiom  100 
Ibs.  to  110  Ibs. — the  rams  50  Ibs.  more ;  nor  do  even  these  equal  the  size 
of  some  of  the  late  imported  French  Merinos. 

A  relation  analogous  to  the  preceding  one,  exists  between  the  weight  of 
the  fleece  and  its  quality.  This  point  has  already  been  sufficiently  set 
forth  on  another  page.  The  opinion  is  there  expressed  that  the  Merino  may 
be  easily  bred,  by  judicious  selection  of  sire  and  dam,  to  bear  4  Ibs.  of  fine 
wool,  or  wool  equaling  ordinary  Saxon.  I  would  now  add  that,  as  a  gen- 
eral rule,  and  in  large  flocks,  I  do  not  believe  more,  than  this  can  be  ob- 
tained, without  a  depreciation  in  the  quality,  among  ewes.  The  ram's 
fleece  should  in  all  cases,  in  a  very  superior  animal,  be  about  double  that 
of  the  ewe.  Five  per  cent,  of  the  live-weight  of  the  carcass,  with  ewes,  is 
the  maximum  weight  of  fine  wool,  which  we  can,  in  the  present  state  of 
breeding,  look  for  with  any  uniform  certainty.  This  would  give  a  fleece 
of  4  Ibs.  to  80  Ibs.  of  live-weight.  As  the  fine-wool  Merinos  increase,  and 
thus  give  a  wider  range  and  better  selection  of  materials  for  nice  exper> 

*  The  latter  point  will  be  more  particularly  adverted  to  in  a  subsequent  part  of  this  Letter 
I  Haxorw  weigh  about  20  Iba.  leaf. 


166  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY     N  THE  SOUTH. 

mnnts,  it  is  very  possible  that  the  per  centage  of  the  fleece  may  be  increased. 
Mr.  Lawrence,  in  speaking  of  attaining  a  four-pound  fleece  of  "  exquisite* 
quality,  undoubtedly  alluded  to  the  wool  which  I  have  classed  as  superfine, 
The  four-pound  fleeced  fine  Merino  can  undoubtedly  be  made  superfine, 
by  diminishing  t^ie  weight  of  its  fleece  10  or  12  ounces  or  a  pound ; 
and  even  then  it  will  be  a  hardier 'and  better  animal  than  the  liner 
class  of  Saxons  which  now  produce  this  wrool.  But  whether  Mr.  Law- 
rence's standard  can  be  fully  attained,  neither  experience  nor  obser- 
vation enable  me  to  decide.  If  it  could,  and  the  sheep  be  equal  to  the 
four-pound  ^e-fleeced  Merino  in  other  respects,  we  should  have  a  perfect 
keep.  Such  wool  has  sold  this  year  at  upward  of  60  cents  per  pound, 
which  would  bring  the  fleeces  to  $2  40  a  piece  !  It  may  be  well  here  to 
glance  at  the  comparative  worth  of  fleeces  in  the  several  Merino  families, 
taking  this  year's  prices,  and  taking  the  weights  which  are  usually  found 
accompanying  the  several  qualities,  in  prime  ordinary  flocks.  A  fine  fleece 
of  4  Ibs.,  at  50  cents,*  would  be  worth  $2 ;  good  medium,  weighing  4J 
Ibs.,  at  40  cents,  $1  80 ;  medium,  weighing  5  Ibs.,  at  32  cents,  $1  60.  And 
the  consumption  of  feed  rises  with  the  diminution  of  quality.  Admitting 
the  daily  consumption  of  hay  for  150  days  to  be  3  per  cent,  to  the  live- 
weight,  100  fine  Merinos,  averaging  85  Ibs.  each,  would  consume  about  19 
tons  of  hay ;  and  100  medium  Merinos,  averaging  105  Ibs.  each,  would 
consume  about  23^  tons — an  important  difference  in  their  relative  ex 
penses !  The  fine-wooled  Merino  does  not,  like  the  Saxon,  lose  his  ad 
vantage  in  this  particular  by  his  inferior  hardiness. 

The  shape  and  general  appearance  of  the  Merino  should  be  as  follows: 
The  head  should  be  well  carried  up,  and  in  the  ewe  hornless.  It  would 
be  better  on  many  accounts  to  have  the  ram  also  hornless,  but,  being  usu- 
ally characteristic  of  the  Merino,  many  prefer  to  see  them.  The  face 
should  be  shortish,  broad  between  the  eyes,  the  nose  pointed,  and  in  the 
ewe  fine  and  free  from  wrinkles.  The  eye  should  bo  bright,  moderately 
prominent,  and  gentle  in  its  expression.  The  neck  should  be  straight  (not 
curving  downward),  short,  round,  stout — particularly  so  at  its  junction  with 
the  shoulder,  forward  of  the  upper  point  of  which  it  should  not  sink  below 
the  level  of  the  back.  The  points  of  the  shoulder  should  not  rise  to  any 
perceptible  extent  above  the  level  of  the  back.  The  back,  to  the  hips, 
should  be  straight;  the  crops  (that  portion  of  the  body  immediately  back 
of  the  shoulder-blades)  full ;  the  ribs  well  arched  ;  the  body  large  and  ca- 
pacious ;  the  flank  well  let  down ;  the  hind-quarters  full  and  round — the 
flesh  meeting  well  down  between  the  thighs,  (or  in  the  "  twist.")  The 
bosom  should  be  broad  and  full ;  the  legs  short,  well  apart,  and  perpendic- 
ular, (*.*.,  not  drawn  under  the  body  toward  each  other  when  the  sheep  is 
standing.)  Viewed  as  a  whole,  the  Merino  should  present  the  appearance 
of  a  low,  st«mt,  plump,  and— though  differing  essentially  from  the  English 
mutton-sheep  model — a  highly  symmetrical  sheep. 

The  skin  is  an  important  point.  It  should  be  loose,  singularly  mellow, 
of  a  rich,  delicate  pink  color.  A  colorless  skin,  or  one  of  a  tawny,  ap- 
proaching to  a  butternut  hue,  indicates  bad  breeding.  On  the  subject  of 
wrinkles,  there  is  a  difference  of  opinion.  Being  rather  characteristic  of 
the  Merino — like  the  black  color  in  a  Berkshire  hog,  or  the  absence  of  all 
color  in  Durham  cattle — these  wrinkles  have  been  more  egarcled,  by  nov- 
ices, than  those  points  which  give  actual  value  to  the  animal ;  and  shrewd 
breeders  have  not  been  slow  to  act  upon  this  hint !  Many  have  contended 
that  more  wool  can  be  obtained  from  a  .vrinkled  skin  ;  and  this  is  the  vicn» 

This  is  not  high  for  fine  Merino  wool.    Tbotiuh  I  fold  ray  lot  for  42  cents,  I  *as  offered  50  ccnta  for  thf 
of  nearly  all  my  later-bred  sheep,  if  I  would  sell  them  separately. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH  167 

of  the  case  which  has  induced  both  the  Spanish  and  Frerch  breeders  to 
cultivate  them — the  latter  to  a  monstrosity.  I  confess  that  t  agree,  to  a 
considerable  extent,  with  Mr.  Joshua  Kirby  Trimmer,*  that  "  this  idea  is 
as  wild  as  that  which  some  of  our  theorists  have  entertained,  that,  by  lay- 
ing lands  in  high  ridges  and  low  furrows,  the  surface  of  the  earth  and  its 
produce  is  increased."  Though  I  once  entertained  a  different  opinion,  thfc 
steel-yards  have  satisfied  me  that  an  exceedingly  wrinkled  neck  does  not 
add  but  a  little  to  the  weight  of  the  fleece — not  enough  to  compensate  for 
the  deformity,  and  the  great  impediment  which  it  places  in  the  way  of  the 
shearer.  I  have  owned  rams,  the  labor  of  shearing  six  of  which,  in  a  nice 
and  workmanlike  manner — cutting  the  wool  off"  short  and  smooth,  on  anti 
among  the  multitude  of  folds  and  wrinkles — was  fully  equivalent  to  shear- 
ing fifteen  ordinary  Merino  rams,  or  twenty-five  ewes — that  is  to  say,  a 
day's  work  for  one  man.  And  none  but  a  skillful  shearer  could,  with  any 
time  given  him,  clip  the  wool  short  and  smooth  among  the  wrinkles,  with- 
out frequently  and  severely  cutting  the  skin.  A  smoothly  drawn  skin,  and 
absence  of  all  dewlap,  on  the  other  hand,  would  not,  perhaps,  be  desirable, 

The  wool  of  the  Merino  should  densely  cover  the  whole  body,  where  it 
can  possibly  grow,  from  a  point  between  and  a  little  below  the  eyes,  ami 
well  up  on  the  cheeks,  to  the  knees  and  hocks.  Short  wool  may  show, 
particularly  in  young  animals,  on  the  legs,  even  below  the  knees  and 
hocks — but  long  wool  covering  the  legs,  and  on  the  nose  below  the 
eyes,  is  unsightly — without  value — and  on  the  faces  it  frequently  impedes 
the  sight  of  the  animal,  causing  it  to  be  in  a  state  of  perpetual  alarm, 
and  disqualifying  it  to  escape  real  danger.  Neither  is  this  useless  wool, 
as  seems  to  be  thought  by  some,  the  slightest  indication  of  a  heavy  fleece. 
I  have  as  often  seen  it  on  Saxons  scarcely  shearing  2  Ibs.  of  wool,  and  on 
the  very  lightest  fleeced  Merinos. 

The  amount  of  gum  which  the  wool  should  exhibit,  is  another  of  the 
mooted  points.  Here,  as  in  many  other  particulars,  experience  has 
changed  my  earlier  impressions.  Merino  wool  should  be  yolky  or  "  oily," 
prior  to  washing — though  not  to  that  extreme  extent,  giving  it  the  ap- 
pearance of  being  saturated  with  grease,  occasionally  witnessed.  The 
extreme  tips  of  the  wool  may  exhibit  a  sufficient  trace  of  gum  to  give  the 
fleece  a  darkish  cast — particularly  in  the  ram — but  a  black,  pitchy  gum, 
resembling  semi-hardened  tar,  extending  an  eighth  or  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
into  the  fleece,  and  which  cannot  be  removed  in  ordinary  washing,  is,  in  my 
opinion,  decidedly  objectionable.  There  is  a  white  or  yellowish  concrete 
gurn,  not  removable  by  common  washing,  which  appears  in  the  interior  of 
some  fleeces,  which  is  equally  objectionable. 

The  weight  of  fleece  remaining  the  same,  medium  length  of  staple,  with 
compactness,  is  preferable  to  long,  open  wool,  inasmuch  as  it  constitutes 
a  better  safeguard  from  inclemencies  of  weather,  and  better  protects  the 
sheep  from  ttie  bad  effects  of  cold  and  drenching  rains  in  spring  and  fall. 
The  wool  should  be  as  nearly  as  possible  of  even  length  and  thicknesi 
over  the  whole  body.  Shortness  on  the  flank,  and  shortness  or  thinness 
on  the  belly,  are  serious  defects. 

"  Evenness  of  fleece  "  is  a  point  of  the  first  importance.  Many  sheen 
exhibit  good  wool  on  the  shoulder  and  side,  while  it  is  far  coarser  ana 
even  hairy  on  the  thighs,  dewlap,  &c.  Rams  of  this  stamp  should  not  be 
bred  from  by  any  one  aiming  to  establish  a  superior  fine-wooled  flock,  and 
all  such  ewes  should  be  gradually  excluded  from  those  selected  for 
breeding. 

The  "style  of  the  wool"  is  a  point  of  as  much  consequence  as  mere 

*  *  Practical  Observations  on  the  Improvement  of  British  Fine  Wools,  &c."  by  the  above,  1828. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


fineness.  Some  very  fine  wool  is  stiff  and  the  fibres  almost  straight,  like 
hair.  It  has  a  dry,  cottony  look.  This  is  a  poor,  unsalable  article,  how- 
ever fine  the  fibre.  Softness  of  wool — a  delicate,  silky,  highly  elastic  feel, 
between  the  fingers  or  on  the  lips,  is  the  first  thing  to  look  after.  This  is 
usually  an  index,  or  inseparable  attendant,  of  the  other  good  qualities,  so 
that  an  experienced  judge  can  decide,  with  little  difficulty,  between  the 
quality  of  two  fleeces,  in  the  dark  !  Wool  should  be  finely  serrated  or 
crimped  from  one  extremity  to  the  other — i.  e.,  it  should  present  a  regular 
series  of  minute  curves,  and,  generally,  the  greater  the  number  of  these 
curves  in  a  given  length,  the  higher  the  quality  of  wool  in  all  other 
particulars.  The  wool  should  open  on  the  back  of  the  sheep  in  connected 
masses,  instead  of  breaking  up  into  little  round  spiral  ringlets  of  the  size 
of  a  pipe-stem,  which  indicate  thinness  of  fleece ;  and  when  the  wool  is 
pressed  open  each  way  with  the  hands,  it  should  be  dense  enough  to  con- 
ceal all  but  a  delicate  rose-colored  line  of  skin.  The  interior  of  the  wool 
should  be  a  pure,  glittering  white,  with  a  lustre  and  "liveliness  "  of  look 
not  surpassed  in  the  best  silk. 

The  points  in  the  form  of  the  Merino  which  the  breeder  is  called  upon 
particularly  to  eschew,  are — a  long,  thin  head,  narrow  between  the  eyes — • 
a  thin,  long  neck,  arching  downward  before  the  shoulders — bad  crops — 
back  falling  behind  the  shoulders — narrow  loin — flat  ribs — steep,  narrow 
hind  quarters — long  legs — thighs  scarcely  meeting  at  all — legs  drawn  far 
under  the  body  at  the  least  approach  of  cold.  All  these  points  were  sep- 
arately or  conjointly  illustrated  in  many  of  the  Saxon  flocks  which  have 
been  recently  swept  from  the  country.  The  points  to  be  avoided  in  the 
fleece  have  been  sufficiently  adverted  to. 

Having  thus  attempted  to  establish  a  standard  for  the  Merino-breeder, 
it,  remains  that  we  examine  some  of  the  most  important  principles,  in 
breeding,  by  which  that  standard  is  to  be  reached  or  maintained. 

The  first  great  starting-point,  among  pure-blood  animals,  is  that  *'  like 
will  beget  like."  If  the  sire  and  dam  are  perfect  in  any  given  point,  the 
offspring  will  generally  be  ;  if  either  is  defective,  the  offspring  will  (sub- 
ject to  a  law  presently  to  be  adverted  to)  be  half  way  between  the  two; 
if  both  are  defective  in  the  same  point,  the  progeny  will  be  more  so  than 
either  of  its  parents — it  will  inherit  the  amount  of  the  defect  in  both  pa- 
rents added  together.  There  are  exceedingly  few  perfect  animals.  Breed- 
ing, then,  is  a  system  of  counterbalancing — breeding  out — in  the  offspring, 
the  defects  of  one  parent,  by  the  marked  excellence  of  the  other  parent. 
in  the  same  points.  The  highest  blood  confers  on  the  parent  possessing  it 
the  greatest  power  of  stamping  its  own  characteristics  on  its  progeny  ;  but 
blood  being  the  same,  the  male  sheep  possesses  this  power  in  a  greater 
degree  than  the  female.  We  may,  therefore,  in  the  beginning,  breed 
from  ewes  possessing  any  defects  short  of  cardinal  ones,  without  impro- 

Sriety,  provided  we  possess  the  proper  ram  for  that  purpose  ;  but  the 
ockmaster,  aiming  at  a  high  standard  of  quality,  should  gradually  throw 
out  from  breeding  all  ewes  possessing  even  considerable  defects.  Every 
year  should  make  him  more  rigorous  in  his  selection.  But  from  the  be- 
ginning— and  in  the  beginning  more  than  at  any  other  time — the  greatest 
care  should  be  evinced  in  the  selection  of  the  ram.  If  he  has  a  defect, 
that  defect  is  to  be  inherited  by  the  whole  future  flock.  If  it  is  a  material 
one,  as,  for  example,  a  hollow  back,  bad  crops,  a  thin  fleece,  or  a  highly 
uneven  fleece,  the  flock  will  be  one  of  low  quality  and  little  value.  If,  on 
the  other  hand,  he  is  perfect,  the  defects  in  the  females  will  be  lessened, 
and  gradually  bred  out.  But  it  being  difficult  to  find  perfect  rams,  we  are 
to  take  those  which  have  the  fewest  and  lightest  defects,  anu  none  of 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  169 

these  material  ones,  like  those  just  enumerated.  And  these  defects  are  U 
be  met  and  counterbalanced  by  the  decided  excellence  (sometimes  running 
to  a  fault)  of  the  ewe,  in  the  same  points.  If  the  ram  is  a  little  too  long 
togged,  the  shortest-legged  ewes  should  be  selected  for  him  ;  if  gummy 
the  dryest-wooled  ewes ;  if  his  fleece  is  a  trifle  below  the  proper  standard' 
of  fineness,  (but  he  has  been  retained,  as  it  often  happens,  for  weight  of 
fleece  and  general  excellence,)  he  is  to  be  put  to  the  finest  and  lightes/ 
fleeced  ewes,  and  so  on.  Having  a  selection  of  rams,  this  system  of  coun 
terbalancing  would  require  little  skill,  if  each  parent  possessed  but  oru 
fault.  If  the  ewe  was  a  trifle  too  thin  fleeced,  and  good  in  all  other  par 
ticulars,  it  would  require  no  nice  judgment  to  decide  that  she  needed  to  b* 
bred  to  an  uncommonly  thick-fleeced  ram.  But  most  animals  possess,  tc 
a  greater  or  less  degree,  several  defects.  To  select  so  that  every  one  01 
these  in  the  dam  shall  meet  its  opposite  in  the  male,  and  vice  versa,  re. 
quires  not  only  plentiful  materials  to  select  from,  but  the  keenest  dis 
crimination.  The  time  and  the  convenient  method  of  selecting  the  cwci 
for  the  several  rams,  and  the  subsequent  management,  will  be  hereaftei 
pointed  out. 

We  will  now  suppose  that  the  breeder  has  established  his  flock — that 
he  has  done  so  successfully,  and  given  them  an  excellent  character.  He 
is  soon  met  with  a  serious  evil.  He  must  "  breed  in-and-in,"  as  it  is  called 
— that  is,  interbreed  between  animals  more  or  less  nearly  related  in  blood 
—or  he  must  seek  rams  from  other  flocks,  to  the  risk  of  losing  or  changing 
the  distinctive  character  of  his  flock,  hitherto  sought  so  sedulously,  and 
built  up  with  so  much  care.  It  is  contended  by  the  opponents  of  in-and-in 
breeding  that  it  renders  diseases  and  all  other  defects  hereditary,  and  that 
t  tends  to  decrease  of  size,  to  debility,  and  a  general  breaking  up  of  the 
constitution.  Its  apologists,  on  the  other  hand,  insist  that,  if  the  parents 
are  perfectly  healthy,  incestuous  connexion  does  not,  per  se,  tend  to  any 
diminution  of  healthiness  in  the  offspring ;  arid  they  also  claim,  what  must 
be  conceded,  that  it  enables  the  skillful  breeder  much  more  rapidly  to 
bring  his  flock  to  a  particular  standard  or  model — and  much  more  easily 
to  keep  it  there — unless  it  be  true  that,  in  course  of  time;  they  will  dwin- 
dle and  grow  feeble.  So  far  as  the  effect  on  the  constitution  is  concerned, 
Loth  positions  may  be,  to  a  certain  extent,  true.  But  it  is,  perhaps,  diffi- 
cult to  always  decide  with  certainty  when  ah  animal  is  not  only  free  from 
disease,  but  from  all  tendency  or  predisposition  toward  it.  A  brother  and 
taster  may  be  apparently  healthy — may  be  actually  so — but  may  possess 
an  idiosyncrasy  which,  under  certain  circumstances,  will  manifest  itself. — 
If  these  circumstances  do  not  chance  to  occur,  they  may  live,  apparently 
possessing  a  robust  constitution,  until  old  age.  If  bred  together,  their  off- 
spring, by  a  rule  already  laid  down,  will  possess  the  idiosyncrasy  in  a 
double  degree.  Suppose  the  ram  be  interbred  with  sisters,  half-sisters, 
daughters,  grand-daughters,  &c.,  for  several  generations,  the  predisposition 
toward  a  particular  disease — in  the  first  place  slight,  now  strong,  and  con- 
stantly growing  stronger — will  pervade,  and  become  radically  incorporated 
into,  the  constitution  of  the  whole  flock.  The  first  time  the  requisite  ex- 
citing causes  are  brought  to  bear,  the  disease  breaks  out,  and,  under  such 
circumstances,  with  peculiar  severity  and  malignancy.  If  it  be  of  a  fatal 
character,  the  flock  is  rapidly  swept  away ;  if  not,  it  becomes  chronic,  01 
periodical  at  frequently  recurring  intervals.  The  same  remarks  apply,  in 
part,  to  those  defects  of  the  outward  form  which  do  not  at  first,  fr<  m  their 
slightness,  attract  the  notice  of  the  ordinary  breeder.  They  are  rapidly 
increased  until,  aim  <st  before  thought  of  by  the  owner,  they  destroy  th<* 
value  of  the  sis  3ep.  That  such  are  the  common  effects  of  in-and-in  breed 


170  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

ing,  with  such  skill  as  it  is  ordinarily  conducted,  all  know  who  have  given 
attention  to  the  subject;  arid  for  these  reasons  the  system  is  looked  upon 
with  decided  disapprobation  and  repugnance,  as  among  all  kinds  of  domes- 
tic animals,  by  nine  out  of  ten  of  the  best  practical  farmers  of  the  Northern 
States. 

How,  then,  shall  the  sheep-breeder  avoid  the  effects  of  in-and-in  breed- 
ing, and  at  the  same  time  preserve  the  character  of  his  flock]  He  should 
do  so  by  seeking  rams  of  the  same  breed,  and  possessing,  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible, the  characteristics  whicli  he  wishes  to  preserve  in  his  own  flock.  If  the 
latter  rule  is  neglected — if  he  draws  indiscriminately  from  all  the  different 
families  or  varieties  of  a  breed — some  large  and  some  small — some  long 
and  some  shoft-wooled — some  medium  and  some  superfine  in  quality — 
some  tall  and  some  squabby — some  crusted  over  with  black  gum,  some 
entirely  free  from  it,  &c.  &c. — breeding  will  become  a  mere  hotch-potch, 
and  no  certain  or  uniform  results  can  be  looked  for.  So  many  varieties 
cannot  be  fused  into  one,  for  a  number  of  generations  ;*  and  it  not  unfre- 
quently  happens,  as  between  the  different  classes  of  Saxons  alluded  to  by 
Mr.  Spooner,f  that  certain  families  can  never  be  successfully  amalgamated. 

But  suppose  the  breeder  has  reached  no  satisfactory  standard — that  his 
sheep  are  deficient  in  the  requisites  he  desires  1  If  the  desired  requisites 
are  characteristic  of  the  breed  he  possesses,  he  is  to  adhere  to  the  breed,  and 
select  better  animals  to  improve  his  own  inferior  ones.  If  he  has  an  infe- 
rior flock  of  South-Downs,  and  wishes  to  obtain  the  qualities  of  the  best 
South  Dams,  he  should  seek  for  the  best  rams  of  that  breed.  But  if  he 
wishes  to  obtain  qualities  not  characteristic  of  the  breed  he  possesses,  he 
must  cross  with  a  breed  which  docs  possess  them.  If  the  possessor  of  South- 
Downs  wishes  to  convert  them  into  a  fine-wooled  sheep  similar  to  the  Me- 
rino, he  should  cross  his  flock  steadily  with  Merino  rams — constantly  in- 
creasing the  amount  of  Merino  and  diminishing  the  amount  of  South -Down 
blood.  To  effect  the  same  result,  he  would  take  the  same  course  with  the 
common  sheep  of  the  country,  or  any  other  coarse  race.  There  are 
those  who,  forgetful  that  some  of  the  finest  varieties  now  in  existence,  of 
several  kinds  of 'domestic  animals,  are  the  result  of  crosses,  bitterly  inveigh 
against  the  practice  of  crossing,  under  any  and  all  circumstances.  As  fre- 
quently conducted,  where  objects  incompatible  with  each  other  are  sought 
to  be  attained — as,  for  example,  an  attempt  to  unite  the  fleece  of  a  Merino 
and  the  carcass  of  a  Leicester,  by  crosses  between  those  breeds — it  is  an 
unqualified  absurdity.  But  under  the  limitations  already  laid  down,  and 
with  the  objects  specified  as  legitimate  ones,  objection  to  crossing  savors, 
in  my  judgment,  of  prejudice  the  most  profound,  or  quackery  the  most 
unvarnished.  The  cry,  "  buy  full-bloods,"  with  such  men,  generally  means, 
"  buy  our  full-bloods  ! "  It  is  neither  convenient,  nor  within  the  means  of 
every  man  wishing  to  start  a  flock  of  sheep,  to  start  exclusively  with  full- 
bloods.  With  a  few  full-bloods  to  breed  rams  from,  and  to  begin  a  full- 
blood  flock,  the  Southern  breeder  will  find  it  his  best  policy  to  purchase 
the  best  common  sheep  of  his  country,  and  gradually  grade  them  up  with 
Merino  rams.  In  selecting  the  ewes,  fair  size,  good  shape,  and  a  robust 
constitution,  are  the  main  points — the  little  difference  that  exists  between 
the  quality  of  the  common  sheep's  wool  is  of  no  consequence.  For  their 
wool  they  are  to  look  to  the  Merino ;  but  good  form  and  constitution  they 
can  and  ought  to  possess,  so  as  not  to  entail  deep-rooted  and  entirely  «»• 
necessary  evils  on  their  progeny. 

*  This  occasions  the  want  of  uniformity  in  the  Rambooillet  flock  in  France,  which  was  begun  by  t  pro- 
mlicuous  admixture  of  all  the  Spanish  families. 
+  U'totcd  in  Letter  X. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  171 

I  have  already  spoken,  in  this  Letter,  incidentally,  of  the  effect  on  the 
fleece  of  the  common  sheep,  by  crossing  with  the  Merino  and  breeding 
steadily  toward  the  latter ;  and  also  of  the  mutton  of  this  cross,  as 
well  as  that  of  the  Merino  and  the  English  breeds.  The  result  of 
the  cross  with  the  common  sheep  has  been  sufficiently  described.  I  would 
add  a  few  remarks  in  relation  to  that  with  the  South-Down  and  Leicester 
— both  of  which  I  have  tried  until  sufficiently  satisfied  with  the  result, 
.Resolved  on  making  an  experiment  with  a  Down  and  Merino  cross,  a  few 
years  since,  and  finding  it  difficult  to  obtain  Down  ewes*  of  the  proper 
quality,  I  obtained  a  small,  compact,  exceedingly  beautiful,  fine  and  even- 
fleeced  Down  ram,t  and  crossed  him  with  a  few  large-sized  Merino  ewes. 
The  half-blood  ewes  were  bred  to  a  Merino  ram,  and  also  their  female 
progeny,  and  so  on.  The  South-Down  form  and  disposition  to  take  on 
fat  manifested  itself,  to  a  perceptible  extent,  in  every  generation  which  I 
bred,!  and  the  wool  of  many  of  the  sheep  in  the  third  generation  (|--blood 
Merino  and  l-blood  Down)  was  very  even,  and  equal  to  medium,  and 
some  of  them  to  good  medium  Merino.  Their  fleeces  were  lighter  than 
the  full-blond  Merino,  but  increased  in  weight  with  each  succeeding  cross 
back  toward  the  latter.  Their  mutton  of  the  first,  and  even  the  second 
cross,  was  of  a  beautiful  flavor — and  it  retained  some  of  the  superiority  of 
South-Down  mutton  to  the  last. 

1  at  the  same  time  purchased  a  few  Leicester  ewes,]|  and,  as  in  the 
preceding  case,  taking  one  cross  of  the  blood,  I  bred  toward  the  Merino. 
The  mongrels,  to  the  second  generation  (beyond  which  I  did  not  breed 
them)  were  about  midway  between  the  size  of  the  two  parent  stocks — 
with  wool  shorter,  but  far  finer  and  more  compact  than  the  Leicester— 
their  fleeces  about  the  same  in  weight  as  in  the  present  stocks§ — and  alto- 
gether they  were  a  showy  and  profitable  sheep,  and  well  calculated  to 
please  the  mass  of  farmers.  Their  fleeces  lacked  evenness — their  thighs 
remaining  disproportionately  coarse  and  hairy ;  and  making  up  my  mind 
that  this  would  always  be  a  tendency  of  the  sheep  of  this  cross,  I  aban- 
doned them  without  farther  experiment. 

In  relation  to  the  number  of  crosses  necessary  before  it  is  proper  to 
breed  from  a  mongrel  ram,  there  is  a  difference  of  opinion.  Mr.  Livings- 
ton says  :fl 

"  It  is  now  so  well  established  as  not  even  to  admit  of  the  smallest  doubt  that  a  Merino  in 
the  fourth  generation,  from  even  the  worst-wooled  ewes,  is  in  every  respect  equal  to  the 
stock  of  the  sire.  No  difference  is  now  made  in  Europe  in  the  choice  of  a  ram,  whether  he 
is  a  full-blood  or  a  fifteen-sixteenths."  ....  "  The  French  agriculturists  say  that  however 
coarse  the  fleece  of  the  parent  ewe  may  have  been,  the  progeny  in  the  fourth  generation 
will  not  show  it." 

I  am  constrained  to  differ  with  even  this  high  authority.  I  admit  that 
the  only  value  of  blood  or  pedigree,  in  breeding,  is  to*  insure  the  hereditary 
transmission  of  the  properties  of  the  parent  to  the  offspring.  As  soon  as 
a  mongrel  reaches  the  point  where  he  stamps  his  characteristics  on  his 
progeny,  with  the  same  certainty  that  a  full-blood  does,  he  is  equally 
valuable,  provided  he  is,  individually,  as  perfect  an  animal.  But  I  do  not 

*  To  carry  out  the  commonly  received  principle  in  breeding,  that  in  crossing  between  different  races,  the 
ram  of  the  smaller  should  be  nut  to  ewe  of  the  larger  one. 

t  This  ram.  obtained  from  Francis  Rotch,  Esq.,  was  got  by  a  prize  ram  of  Mr.  Ellman'e,  and  from  one  of 
bis  choicest  breeding-ewes,  and  showed  infinitely  more  style,  as  well  as  fineness  and  evenness  of  wool, 
than  the  common  Downs  of  our  country.  He  was  not  larger  than  a  large-sized  Merino  ram. 

J  These  I  finally  put  off  to  save  myself  the  trouble  of  breeding  several  kinds  of  sheep  on  the  same  farm. 

||  Descended  from  the  flock  of  the  late  Robert  Adcock.  of  Otsego  County,  N.  Y. — considered  at  the  time 
equal  to  any  flock  in  the  State. 

§  That  is,  about  5  Ibs.  I  have  put  down  the  Leicester  fleece,  in  my  description  of  the  breed,  at  6  Ibs.,  aa 
ihis  is  the  amount  generally  claimed  for  them  ;  but  in  the  few  cases  brought  within  my  direct  knowledge, 
they  have  never  averaged  it.  My  ewes  above  alluded  to  did  not,  I  think,  average  quite  5  Ibs. 

\r  Essay  on  Sheep,  pp.  181. 183. 


172  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH, 

believe  that  this  can  be  depended  upon,  with  any  certainty,  in  rams  of  the 
fourth  Merino  cross.  My  only  experience  in  this  particular  is  in  the  ob- 
servation of  other  men's  flocks  who  have  bred  with  high-grade  rams.* 
These  have  invariably  lacked  the  style  and  perfection  of  thorough-bred 
flocks.  The  sixth,  seventh,  or  eighth  cross  might  be  generally,  and  the 
last  perhaps  almost  invariably,  as  good  as  pure-blood  rams,  but  I  confess 
I  should  still  prefer  to  adhere  to  the  latter.  Pure  blood  is  a  fixed  stand- 
ard, and  were  every  breeder  to  think  himself  at  liberty  to  depart  from  it, 
in  his  rams,  each  one  more  or  less,  according  to  his  own  judgment  or 
caprice,  the  whole  blood  of  the  country  would  become  adulterated.  No 
man  would  be  authorized  to  sell  a  ram  of  any  cross,  be  it  the  tenth,  or 
even  the  twentieth,  as  a  full-blood. 

It  is  all-important  for  those  commencing  flocks  either  of  full-bloods,  or 
by  crossing,  to  select  the  choicest  rams.  A  grown  ram  may  be  made  to 
serve  ||  from  100  to  150  ewes  in  a  season.  A  good  Merino  ram  will, 
speaking  within  bounds,  add  more  than  a  pound  of  wool  to  the  fleece  of 
the  dam,  on  every  lamb  got  by  it,  from  a  common-wooled  ewe.§  Here  is 
one  hundred  or  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  wool  for  the  use  of  a 
ram  for  a  single  season  !  And  every  lamb  subsequently  got  by  him  adds  a 
pound  to  this  amount.  Many  a  ram  gets,  during  his  life,  800  or  1,000 
lambs  !  Nor  is  the  extra  amount  of  wool  all.  He  gets  from  800  to  1,000 
half-blooded  sheep,  worth  double  their  dams,  -and  ready  to  be  made  the 
basis  of  another  and  higher  stride  in  improvement.  A  good  ram,  then,  is 
as  important,  and,  it  seems  to  me,  quite  as  valuable  an  animal  as  a  good 
farm-horse  stallion  !  When  the  number  of  a  ram's  progeny  are  taken  into 
consideration,  and  when  it  is  seen  over  what  an  immense  extent,  even  in 
his  own  direct  offspring,  his  good  or  bad  qualities  are  to  be  petpetuated, 
the  folly  of  that  economy  which  would  select  an  inferior  one  is  sufficiently 
obvious. 

Every  one  desirous  of  sta'rting  a  flock  will  find  it  his  best  economy, 
where  the  proper  flocks  to  draw  rams  from  are  not  near  him,  to  purchase 
several  of  the  same  breed,  of  course,  but  of  different  strains  of  blood.  Thus, 
ram  No.  2  can  be  put  on  the  offspring  of  No.  1,  and  vice  versa;  No.  3  can 
be  put  upon  the  offspring  of  both,  and  both  upon  the  offspring  of  No.  3. 
The  changes  which  can  be  rung  on  three  distinct  strains  of  blood,  without 
in-and-in  breeding  close  enough  to  be  attended  with  any  considerable  dan- 
ger, are  innumerable.^  But  if  these  rams  of  different  strains  are  bought 
promiscuously,  without  reference  to  similarity  of  characteristics,  there 
may,  and  probably  will  be  differences  between  them,  and  it  might  require 
time  and  skill  to  give  a  flock  descended  from  them,  a  proper  uniformity  of 
character.  Those  who  breed  rams  for  sale  should  be  prepared  to  furnish 
different  strains  of  blood  with  the  necessary  individual  and  family  uni 
formity. 

*  I  have  never  knowingly  bred  with  any  other  ram  than  a  pure-blood,  of  any  stock,  or  for  any  purpose. 

||  By  methods  hereafter  to  be  described. 

§  That  is,  if  the  ewe  at  3  years  old  sheared  3  Ibs.  of  wool,  the  lamb  at  the  same  age  will  shear  4  Ibs.  of 
wool. 

If  The  brother  and  sister  are  of  the  game  blood;  the  father  and  daughter,  half;  the  father  nnd  grand- 
daughter, one-fourth  ;  tfw  father  and  great  grand-daughter,  one-eighth,  and  so  on.  Breeding  between  an- 
imals possessing  one-eighth  of  the  same  blood,  would  not  be  considered  very  close  breeding  ;  and  it  is  not 
uncustomary,  in  rugged,  well-formed  families,  to  breed  between  those  possessing  one-fourth  of  the  saint 
blood. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  173 


LETTER  XII. 

SUMMED  MANAGEMENT  OF  SHEEP. 


Tagging-  necessity  of— method  of  doing  it. ..Burs — how  avoided... Lambing — time  of—  Inclosurei  for-* 
Mechanical  Assistance — when  rendered — assisting  the  Lamb — Feeding — necessary  care  in—  Warming— 
Foster  Ewes. ..Pens..."  Pinning  "...Numbering  and  Registering — advantages  of— Von  Timer's  System  of 
Numbering — manner  of  doing  it  conveniently — Mr.  Grove's  form  of  a  Register...  Castration  and  Docking 
— proper  tune  and  method...  Washing— time— necessary  apparatus — "wetting1' — manner  of  washing — 
ordinary  wiiete  in  subsequent  cleansing..  Cutting  the  Hoofs — best  time — implements— method... Time 
between  Washing  and  Shearing... shearing — proper  conveniences  for — catcher's  business — directions  to 
shearer — general  directions...  Shearing  Lambs — shearing  Sheep  semi-annuhlly — objectionable  practices... 
Doing  up  Wool— Wool  Table  and  Trough — handling  fleece — arrangement  on  table — folding — rolling— ty- 
ing— pi  oper  twine . . .  Storing  Wool — Wool-Room . . .  Sacking  W  ool — methods . . .  Sorting  the  Flock  at  shear. 
iriiC— Iiow  done... Marking  Sheep— the  proper  way. ..Cold  Storms  after  Shearing. ..Sun-scald... Ticks — 
how  destroyed..  .Maggots — preventives... Cutting  the  Horns... Division  of  Flocks  for  Summer..  .Hop- 
pling— Clogging,  «fcc. ..Dangerous  Rama. ..Fences. ..Salt. ..Tar. ..Water... Shade. ..Weaniug  Lambs... 
Fall  Feeding... Shepherd's  Crook. 

Dear  Sir  :  Agreeably  to  your  request,  and  that  of  various  other  South- 
ern friends,  I  proceed  to  give  directions  for  the  practical  management  of 
sheep  "  plain  and  minute  enough  for  the  guidance  of  those  entirely  unac- 
quainted with  the  subject."  I  will  begin  with  their  Summer  Management.* 


TAGGING. — If  sheep  are  kept  on  dry  feed  through  the  winter,  they  will 
usually  purge  more  or  less,  when  let  out  to  green  feed  in  the  spring.  The 
wool  around  and  below  the  anus  becomes  saturated  with  dung,  which 
forms  into  hard  pellets,  if  the  purging  ceases.  But  whether  this  takes 
place  or  not,  the  adhering  dung  cannot  be  removed  from  the  wool  in  the 
ordinary  process  of  washing.  It  forms  a  great  impediment  in  shearing, 
dulling  and  straining  the  shears  to  cut  through  it  when  in  a  dry  state,  and 
it  is  often  impracticable  so  to  do.  It  is  difficult  to  force  the  shears  be- 
tween it  and  the  skin,  without  frequently  and  severely  wounding  the  latter. 
Occasionally,  too,  fiies  deposit  their  eggs  under  this  mass  of  filth  prior  to 
shearing,  and  the  ensuing  swarm  of  maggots,  unless  speedily  discovered 
and  removed,  will  lead  the  sheep  to  a  miserable  death. 

Before  sheep  are  let  out  to  grass,  each  one  should  have  the  wool  sheared 
from  the  roots  of  the  tail  down  the  inside  of  the  thighs, 
over  the  surface  included  between  the  dotted  lines  in  Fis- 

the  cut.  The  wool  should  be  sheared  from  off  the  en- 
tire bag  of  the  ewe,  that  the  newly  dropped  lamb  may 
more  readily  find  the  teat,  and  from  the  scrotum,  and 
so  much  space  round  the  point  of  the  sheath  of  the  ram, 
as  is  usually  kept  wet.  If  the  latter  place  is  neglected, 
soreness  and  ulceration  sometimes  ensue  from  the  con- 
stant maceration  of  the  urine. 

Sometimes  each  tagger  catches  and  holds  his  own 

sheep,  but  it  is,  on  the  whole,  better,  I  think,  to  have  an  assistant  catch  the 
sheep  and  hold  them  while  they  are  tagged.  The  latter  process  requires 
a  good  shearer,  as  the  wool  must  be  cut  off  closely  and  smoothly,  or  the 
object  is  but  half  accomplished,  an<J  the  sheep  will  have  an  unsightly  and 
ridiculous  appearance,  when  the  remainder  of  their  fleeces  is  taken  off ; 

•  I  have  not  thought  it  necessary  to  mark  with  quotation  points,  various  extracts  in  this  Letter,  from  • 
•eriea  of  Letters  written  by  me  a  number  of  years  since,  and  published  in  the  "  Valley  Farmer  " 


174  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

and,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  not  only  improper  to  cut  the  skin  of  a  sheep 
at  any  time,  but  it  is  peculiarly  so  to  cut  that  on  the  bag  of  an  ewe  near 
lambing.  The  wool  saved  by  tagging  will  far  more  than  pay  the  ex- 
penses of  the  operation.  It  answers  well  for  stockings  and  other  ordinary 
domestic  purposes,  or  it  will  sell  for  something  like  half  the  price  of  fleece 
wool. 

Humanity  and  economy  both  dictate  that  care  should  be  taken  in  han 
dling  sheep  at  all  times,  and  it  is  especially  important  with  ewes  heavy 
with  lamb.  It  is  highly  injurious  and  unsafe  lo  chase  them  about  and  han- 
dle them  roughly,  for  even  if  abortion,  the  worst  consequence  of  such 
treatment,  is  avoided,  they  become  timid  and  shy  of  being  touched,  render- 
ing it  difficult,  to  catch  or  render  them  assistance  at  the  lambing  period—- 
and even  a  matter  of  difficulty  to  enter  the  cotes  where  it  is  sometimes 
necessary  to  confine  tl  **m  at  that  time,  without  having  them  driving  about 
pell-mell,  running  ovei  their  lambs,  &c.  It  may  not  be  known  to  every 
one,  that  if  a  sheep  is  .suddenly  caught  by  the  wool  when  running,  or  is 
lifted  by  its  wool,  the  skin  is  to  a  certain  extent  loosened  from  the  body 
at  the  points  where  it  is  thus  seized,  and  if  killed  a  day  or  two  afterward, 
blood  will  be  found  settled  about  those  parts.  A  man  knowing  this,  and 
subsequently  guilty  of  such  gratuitous  brutality,  richly  deserves  to  be 
kicked  out  of  the  sheep-yard.  When  sheep  are  to  be  handled,  they  should 
be  inclosed  in  a  yard,  just  large  enough  to  hold  them  without  their  being 
crowded — so  they  shall  have  no  chance  to  run  and  dash  about.  The' 
catcher  should  stop  them  by  seizing  them  by  the  hind  leg  close  above  the 
hock,  or  by  clapping  one  hand  before  the  neck  and  the  other  behind  the 
buttocks.  Then,  not  waiting  for  the  sheep  to  make  a  violent  struggle,  he 
should  throw  his  light  arm  over  and  about  it  immediately  back  of  the 
shoulders,  place  his  hand  under  the  brisket,  and  lift  the  animal  on  his  hip. 
If  the  sheep  is  very  heavy,  he  can  throw  both  arms  around  it,  clasp  his 
fingers  under  the  brisket,  and  lift  it  up  against  the  front  part  of  his  body. 
He  then  should  set  it  carefully  on  its  rump  on  the  lagging-table,  (which 
should  be  18  or  20  inches  high,)  support  its  back  with  his  legs,  and  hold 
it  gently  and  conveniently  until  the  tagger  has  performed  his  duty.  Two 
men  should  not  be  permitted  to  lift  the  same  sheep  together,  as  it  will  be 
pretty  sure  to  receive  some  strain  between  them.  A  good  shearer  and 
assistant  will  tag  200  sheep  per  day. 

Where  sheep  receive  green  feed  all  the  year  round,  as  they  will  do  in 
many  parts  of  the  South,  and  no  purging  ensues  from  eating  the  newly- 
startirig  grasses  in  the  spring,  tagging  will  not  be  necessary. 

BURS,  &c. — If  sheep  are  let  out  in  the  spring  into  pastures  where  the 
dry  stalks  of  the  Burdock  (Arttium  lappa),  or  the  Hound's  Tongue,  or 
Tory-weed  (  Cynoglossum  ojficinalcj,  have  remained  standing  over  the  win- 
ter, the  burs  are  caught  in  their  now  long  wool,  and,  if  numerous,  the  wool 
is  rendered  entirely  unmarketable,  and  almost  valueless.  Even  the  dry 
prickles  of  the  common  and  Canada  thistles,  where  they  are  very  numer- 
ous, get  into  the  neck-wool  of  sheep,  as  they  thrust  their  heads  under  and 
among  them  to  crop  the  first  scarce  feed  of  the  Northern  spring ;  and,  in- 
dependently of  injuring  the  wool,  they  make  it  difficult  to  wash  and  other- 
wise handle  the  sheep.  The  Burdock  being  a  large  and  not  very  frequent 
plant,  there  is  no  excuse  for  its  being  found  on  the  farm.  The  Hound's 
Tongue  is  very  prevalent  in  forests  and  partly  wooded  pastures  in  the 
North,  and  it  is  not  conspicuous  enough  to  be  easily  eradicated,  though 
careful  sheep-farmers  often  do  so.  If  sheep  are  let  into  pastures  contain 
ing  it,  it  must  be  only  in  the  summer  and  fall,  after  shearing.  The  burs, 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE   SOUTH.  175 

not  sunk  so  deeply  in  the  short  wool,  will  wear  cut  during  our  winters—- 
but no  man  thinks  of  letting  his  sheep  into  pastures  containing  it,  before 
shearing  in  the  spring.  Indeed,  sheep  should  be  kept  on  the  cleanest  pas- 
tures— tlusefree  from  these  and  all  similar  plants — during  this  period ; 
and,  in  a  region  where  they  are  pastured  the  year  round,  if  such  pests  are 
not  eradicated — which  /should  consider  indispensable — the  sheep  should 
oe  kept  from  contact  with  them  for  some  months  prior  to  shearing. 

LAMBING. — Lambs  are  usually  dropped,  in  the  North,  from  the  first  to 
the  fifteenth  of  May.  In  the  South,  they  might  safely  come  earlier.  It  is 
not  expedient  to  have  them  dropped  when  the  weather  is  cold  and  boister- 
ous, as  they  require  too  much  care ;  but  the  sooner  the  better,  after  the 
weather  has  become  mild,  and  the  herbage  has  started  sufficiently  to  give 
the  ewes  that  green  food  which  is  required  to  produce  a  plentiful  secretion 
of  milk.  It  is  customary  in  the  North  to  have  fields  of  clover,  or  the  earli 
est  grasses,  reserved  for  the  early  spring  feed  of  the  breeding  ewes;  and, 
if  these  can  be  contiguous  to  their  shelters,  it  is  a  great  convenience — for 
the  ewes  should  be  confined  in  the  latter,  on  cold  and  stormy  nights,  during 
the  lambing  season. 

If  warm  and  pleasant,  and  the  nights  are  warmish,  I  prefer  to  have  the 
lambing  take  place  in  the  pastures.  I  think  sheep  are  more  disposed  to 
own  and  take  kindly  to  their  lambs  thus,  than  in  the  confusion  of  a  small 
irtclosure.  Unless  particularly  docile,  sheep  in  a  small  inclosure  crowd 
from  one  side  to  another  when  any  one  enters,  running  over  young  lambs, 
pressing  them  severely,  &c.  Ewes  get  separated  from  their  lambs,  and 
then  run  violently  round  from  one  to  another,  jostling  and  knocking  them 
about.  Young  and  timid  ewes  get  separated  from  their  lambs,  and  fre 
quently  will  neglect  them  for  an  hour  or  more  before  they  will  again  ap- 
proach them.  If  the  weather  is  severely  cold,  the  lamb,  if  it  has  nevei 
sucked,  stands  a  chance  to  perish.  Lambs,  too,  when  just  dropped,  in  a 
dirty  inclosure,  in  their  first  efforts  to  rise,  tumble  about,  and  the  mem- 
brane which  adheres  to  them  becomes  smeared  with  dirt  and  dung — and 
the  ewe  refuses  to  lick  them  dry,  which  much  increases  the  hazard  of 
freezing. 

Nevertheless,  all  this  must  be  incurred  in  cold  storms,  and  in  sudden 
and  severe  weather ;  and,  therefore,  it  should  be  the  effort  of  every  shep- 
herd to  teach  his  sheep  docility.  I  have  seen  the  late  Mr.  Grove  walk 
about  a  barn  filled  with  his  Saxons,  not  only  without  their  crowding  from 
side  to  side,  but  many  of  them  absolutely  lying  still  while  he  stepped  over 
them  !  I  say  it  "  must  be  incurred."  I  mean  by  this  that  it  is  the  safest 
course  with  all  breeds,  and  a  matter  of  necessity  with  others.  It  takes  but 
a  very  moderately  cold  night  to  destroy  the  new-born  Saxon  lamb,  which 
(the  pure  blood)  is  yeaned  nearly  as  naked  as  a  child  !  During  a  severely 
cold  period,  of  several  days'  continuance,  it  is  almost  impossible  to  reat 
them,  even  in  the  best  shelter.  The  Merino,  South-Down,  and  some  other 
breeds,  will  endure  a  greater  degree  of  cold  with  impunity. 

Inclosures,  when  used  for  yeaning,  should  be  kept  clean  by  frequent  lit- 
terings  of  straw — not  enough,  however,  thrown  on  at  one  time,  to  embar- 
rass the  lamb  about  rising. 

The  ewe  does  not  often  require  mechanical  assistance  in  parturition.-— 
Her  labors  will  sometimes  be  prolonged  for  three  or  four  hours,  and  her 
loud  moanings  will  evince  the  extent  of  her  pain.  Sometimes  she  will  go 
about  several  hours,  and  even  resume  her  grazing,  with  the  fore-feet  and 
nose  of  the  lamb  showing  at  the  mouth  of  the  vagina.  But,  if  let  alone, 
Nature  will  generally  finally  relieve  her.  This  might  not  do  with  the 


176  SH£e.P  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

heavy  English  breeds.  I  should  infer  not,  from  the  elaborate  directions 
in  the  premises,  by  Youatt,  Blacklock,  and  other  English  wiiters  on  Sheep j 
though  with  the  comparatively  small  number  of  these  varieties  which  1 
have  bred,  I  hive  had  no  difficulty  in  this  particular.  Among  the  thou- 
sands and  thousands  of  fine-wooled  sheep  which  I  have  bred,  I  never  have 
known  a  single  instance  of  a  false  presentation  of  the  foetus,  and  never 
have  had  mechanical  assistance  rendered  in  to  exceed  half  a  dozen  in- 
stances. The  objection  to  interfering,  except  as  a  last  resort,  is  that  the 
ewe  is  frightened  when  caught,  and  her  efforts  to  expel  the  larnb  cease.— 
When  aided,  the  gentlest  force  should  be  applied,  and  only  in  conjunction 
with  the  efforts  of  the  ewe. 

While  the  lamb  is  tumbling  about  and  attempting  to  rise,  and  the  ewe 
is  licking  it  dry,  it  is  better  to  be  in  no  haste  to  interfere.  A  lamb  that 
gets  at  the  teat  without  help,  and  gets  even  a  small  quantity  of  milk,  knows 
how  to  help  itself  afterward,  and  rarely  perishes.  If  helped,  it  sometimes 
continues  to  expect  it,  and  will  do  little  for  itself  for  two  or  three  days. — 
The  same;  is  true  when  lambs  are  fed  from  a  spoon  or  bottle. 

But  if  the  lamb  ceases  to  make  efforts  to  rise,  particularly  if  the  ewe  has 
left  off  licking  it  while  it  is  wet  and  chilly,  it  is  time  for  the  shepherd  to 
render  his  assistance.  It  is  better  not  to  throw  the  ewe  down,  as  is  fre- 
quently practiced,  to  suckle  the  lamb,  because  instinct  teaches  the  latter  to 
point  its  nose  upward  in  search  of  the  teat.  It  is  doubly  difficult,  there- 
fore, to  induce  it  to  suck  from  the  bag  of  the  prostrate  ewe ;  and  when 
taught  to  do  this,  by  being  suckled  so  several  times,  I  have  invariably  no- 
ticed that  it  renders  it  awkward  about  finding  the  teat  in  the  natural  posi- 
tion, when  it  begins  to  stand  and  help  itself.  Nothing  is  stupider  than  a 
weakly  lamb !  *  Carefully  disengaging  the  ewe  from  her  companions,  with 
his  crook,  the  assistant  should  place  one  hand  before  the  neck  and  the  other 
behind  the  buttocks  of  the  ewe,  and,  then  pressing  her  against  his  knees, 
he  should -hold  her  firmly  and  stilly,  so  that  she  shall  not  be  constantly 
crowding  away  from  the  shepherd.  The  shepherd  should  set  the  lamb  on 
its  feet,  inducing  it  to  stand,  if  possible  ;  if  not,  supporting  it  on  its  feet  by 
placing  one  hand  under  its  body — -place  its  mouth  to  the  teat,  and  encour- 
age it  to  suck  by  tickling  it  about  the  roots  of  the  tail,  flanks,  &c.,  with  a 
finger.  The  lamb,  mistaking  this  last  for  the  caresses  of  its  dam,  will  re- 
double its  efforts  to  suck.  Sometimes  it  will  evince  great  dullness,  and 
even  apparent  obstinacy,  in  refusing  for  a  long  time  to  attempt  to  assist 
tself,  crowding  backward,  &c. ;  but  the  kind  and  gentle  shepherd,  who 
will  not  sink  himself  to  the  level  of  a  brute  by  resenting  the  stupidity  of  a 
brute,  will  generally  carry  the  point  by  perseverance.  Sometimes  milking 
a  little  into  the  lamb's  mouth,  holding  the  latter  close  to  the  teat,  will  in- 
duce it  to  take  hold. 

If  the  ewe  has  no  milk,  the  lamb  should  be  fed  until  the  natural  supply 
commences,  with  small  quantities  of  the  milk  of  a  new^nilch  cow.  This 
ehould  be  mixed,  say  half  and  half,  with  water — with  enough  molasses  to 
give  it  the  purgative  effect  of  biestings,  or  the  first  milk — gently  warmed 
to  the  natural  heat  (not  scalded  and  suffered  to  cool),  and  then  fed  through 
a  bottle  with  a  sponge  in  the  opening  of  it,  which  the  lamb  should  suck, 
if  it  can  be  induced  so  to  do.  If  the  milk  is  poured  in  its  mouth  from  a 
spoon  or  bottle,  as  already  remarked,  it  is  frequently  difficult  afterward  to 
induce  it  to  suck.  And,  moreover,  unless  milk  is  poured  in  the  mouth 
slowly  and  with  care — no  faster  than  the  lamb  can  swallow — a  speedy 
wheezing,  the  infallible  precursor  of  death,  will  show  that  a  portion  of  the 
fluid  has  been  forced  into  the  lungs.  I  have  known  lambs  frequently 
killed  in  this  way. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  177 

If  a  lamb  becomes  chilled,  it  sbould  be  wrapped  up  in  a  woolen  blanket, 
and  placed  in  a  warm  room — giving  a  little  milk  as  soon  as  it  will  swal- 
low. A  trifle  of  pepper  is  sometimes  placed  in  the  milk,  and  1  think  with 
good  effect,  to  rouse  the  cold  and  torpid  stomach  into  action.  Some  of  the 
Yankee  old  ladies,  under  such  circumstances,  "  bake  "  the  lamb,  as  it  is 
called — i.  e.t  put  it  in  a  blanket  in  a  moderately  heated  oven,  until 
warmth  and  animation  are  restored.  Others  immerse  it  in  tepid  water, 
and  subsequently  rub  it  dry.  This  is  said  to  be  an  excellent  method 
where  the  lamb  is  nearly  frozen.  I  never  have  tried  it.  A  good  blanket, 
a  warm  room,  and  sometimes,  perhaps,  a  little  gentle  friction,  have  always 
sufficed. 

If  a  strong  ewe,  with  a  good  bag  of  milk,  chances  to  lose  her  lamb,  she 
should  be  required  to  bring  up  one  of  some  other  ewe's  pair  of  twins — or 
the  lamb  of  some  feeble  or  young  ewe,  having  an  inadequate  supply  of 
milk.  Her  own  lamb  should  be  skinned,  as  soon  as  possible  after  death, 
and  the  skin  sowed  over  the  lamb  which  she  is  required  to  foster.  She 
will  sometimes  be  a  little  suspicious  for  a  day  or  two,  and  if  so,  she  should 
be  kept  in  a  small  pen  with  the  lamb,  being  occasionally  looked  to.  After 
taking  well  to  it,  the  false  skin  may  be  removed  in  three  or  four  days.  If 
no  lamb  is  placed  on  a  ewe  which  has  lost  her  lamb,  and  which  has  a 
full  bag  of  milk,  the  milk  should  be  drawn  from  the  bag  once  or  twice,  or 
garget  may  ensue.  If  it  does  not,  permanent  indurations,  or  other  re- 
sults of  inflammatory  action  will  often  take  place,  injuring  the  subsequent 
nursing  properties  of  the  animal.  When  milked,  it  is  well  to  wash  the 
bag  for  some  time  in  cold  water.  It  checks  the  subsequent  secretions  of 
milk,  as  well  as  abates  inflammation.  Garget  will  be  treated  under  the 
nead  of  Diseases  of  Sheep. 

Sometimes  a  young^  ewe,  though  exhibiting  sufficient  fondness  for  he! 
lamb,  will  not  stand  for  it  to  suck ;  and  in  this  case,  if  the  lamb  is  not  very 
strong  and  persevering,  and  especially  if  the  weather  is  cold,  it  soon  grows 
weak  and  perishes.  The  conduct  of  the  dam  in  such  cases  is  occasioned 
by  inflammatory  action  abo^t  the  bag  or  teats — and,  perhaps  somewhat  by 
the  novelty  of  her  position  !  In  this  case  the  sheep  should  be  caught  and 
held  until  the  lamb  has  exhausted  the  bag,  and  there  will  not  often  be  any 
trouble  afterward,  though  it  may  be  well  enough  to  keep  them  in  a  pen 
together  until  the  fact  is  determined. 

I  have  several  times  spoken  of  pens.  They  are  necessary  in  the  cases  1 
have  mentioned,  and  in  a  variety  of  others.  It  is  therefore  well  for  the 
flock-master  to  be  always  provided  with  a  few  of  them  for  emergencies. 
They  need  not  be  to  exceed  eight  or  ten  feet  square,  and  should  be  built 
of  light  materials,  and  fastened  together  at  the  corners,  so  they  can  be 
readily  moved  by  one,  or,  at  the  most,  two  men,  from  place  to  place, 
where  they  are  wanted.  Their  position  should  be  daily  shifted  when 
sheep  are  in  them,  for  cleanliness  and  fresh  feed.  Light  pine  poles,  laid 
up  fence  fashion,  and  each  nailed  or  pegged  to  the  lower  ones,  at  the  cor- 
ners, as  laid  on,  would  make  excellent  ones.  Two  or  three  sides  of  a  few 
of  them  should  be  wattled  with  twigs,  and  the  tops  partly  covered  to  shel- 
ter feeble  lambs  from  cold  rains,  piercing  winds,  &c. 

Young  lambs  are  subject  to  what  is  technically  called  "  pinning," — that 
is,  their  first  excrements  are  so  adhesive  and  tenacious  that  the  orifice  of 
the  anus  is  closed,  and  subsequent  evacuations  prevented.  The  adhering 
matter  should  be  entirely  removed,  and  the  part  rubbed  with  a  little  dry 
clay  to  prevent  subsequent  adhesion.  Lambs  will  frequently  perish  from 
this  cause  if  not  looked  to  for  the  first  few  days. 

Z 


178  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

NUMBERING  AND  REGISTERING. — This  is  not  absolutely  necessary  for  the 
wool-grower,  though  it  is,  in  many  points  of  view,  a  vast  convenience  to 
nim,  and  leads  to  a  degree  of  system  in  his  efforts  after  improvement,  and 
gives  a  definiteness  and  precision  to  the  execution  of  his  plans,  otherwise 
unattainable.  But  the  breeder — he  who  makes  it  his  business  move  par- 
ticularly to  raise  choice  animals  to  sell  for  breeding  purposes — is  unwoi- 
thy  of  the  name,  if  he  does  not  regularly  number  and  register  his  sheep, 
80  that  he  can  trace  the  descent  of  any  ram  or  ewe,  through  any  number 
of  generations.  This  is  not  merely  to  gratify  an  idle  curiosity,  or  to  fur- 
nish a  purchaser  with  a  sounding  pedigree.  Every  breeder  is  under  the  ne 
cessity  of  directly  breeding  in-and-in,  or  of  occasionally  employing  new 
strains  of  blood.  If  the  latter  step  is  often  resorted  to,  the  hazard  is  in- 
creased of  changing  the  character  of  the  flock.*  If  he  numbers  and  regis- 
ters his  sheep,  he  can  breed  "  closer,"!  and  consequently  longer,  without  a 
change,  without  the  hazard  of  confusion  or  mistake.  Where  half  a  dozen, 
or  even  three  or  four  rams  are  used  in  the  flock  the  same  year,  it  would  be 
beyond  the  power  of  any  breeder,  relying  on  his  memory  alone,  to  decide, 
six  or  eight  or  ten  years  subsequently,  which  were  the  daughters,  grand- 
daughters, and  great-grand-daughters  of  each.  If  the  rams  A  and  B  be  un- 
related, A  may  be  put  to  the  daughters  of  B,  and  then  B  be  put  to  the 
produce,  (i.  c.,  his  own  grand-daughter,  got  by  A,)  without  "close"  breed- 
ing— because  they  possess  but  one-quarter  of  the  same  blood.  Then  the 
great-grand-daughter  may  be  again  put  to  A,  because  she  possesses  but  one- 
quarter  of  his  blood.  As  I  remarked  in  my  last  Letter,  with  three  strains 
of  blood  to  start  with,  the  breeder  may  ring  innumerable  changes,  without 
ever  trenching  on  that  line  which  marks  the  boundaries  of  close  breeding. 
He  who  pretends  that  he  can  preserve  such  multiplied  classifications  in 
his  memory  alone,  is  unworthy  of  the  least  confidence. 

There  is  another  very  important  consideration.  Numbering  and  regis- 
tering enables  the  breeder  to  trace  breeding  effects  definitely  to  their  causes. 
Suppose  that  he  finds  that  an  unusual  number  of  his  young  ewes  are 
poor  nurses — or  exhibit  some  imperfection  of  form  or  wool.  He  can  re- 
move the  present  effect  by  throwing  out  the  defective  ones.  But  the  undis- 
covered cause  may  still  remain  in  operation.  It  may  be  a  particular  ram 
or  the  result  of  interbreeding  between  such  ram,  and  ewes  of  a  certair. 
strain  of  blood.  If  this  ram,  or  perhaps  others  got  by  him,  be  permitted  to 
breed,  or  breed  with  a  particular  class  of  ewes,  the  evil  creeps  along  in  the 
flock,  its  cause  remaining  undiscovered.  But  if  the  breeder  could  fix  the 
precise  pedigree  of  every  sheep,  from  an  accurately  kept  register,  he 
would  soon  ascertain  what  strains  of  blood,  or  the  conjunction  of  what 
strains,  produced  the  evil.  By  the  same  means,  he  could  as  readily  trace 
the  sources  of  particular  excellence. 

The  system  of  numbering  invented  by  the  celebrated  Von  Thaer  is  far 
preferable  to  any  other  which  I  have  seen.f  It  is  as  follows  :  || 

*  A  ram  of  a  new  strain  of  blood,  though  of  prime  quality,  and  apparently  possessing  the  same  charac- 
teristics with  the  flock,  does  not  always  interbreed  well  with  the  nock  in  all  those  minute  particulars  which 
the  breeder  is  bound  to  -notice,  though" they  might  escape  the  eye  of  the  ordinary  nock-master.  Every 
breeder,  therefore,  who  has  a  flock  that  suits  him,  is  exceedingly  averse  to  an  infusion  of  new  blood,  and 
resorts  to  it  only  as  a  matter  of  necessity. 

t  That  is,  he  can  breed  in-and-in  somewhat.  "  Close"  breeding  is  breeding  between  war  affinities,  auth 
RS  between  brother  and  sister,  whicharfi  of  the  game  hiood,  or  between  a  father  and  a  grand-daughter  be- 
gotten on  a  daughter,  which  would  be  three-fourths  of  the  same  blood.  &c. 

J  It  will  not  cause  half  the  mutilation  of  the  system  given  in  the  American  Shepherd — is  simple,  and 
pives  the  age.  which  the  former  does  not  Neither  can  this  system  of  giving  the  age  be  ingrafted  oa 
that  system  of  numbering. 

||  As  furnished  me  by  Mr.  Grove,  a  number  of  years  since,  with  this  exception,  that  the  point  of  th« 
ri"ht  ear  cut  square  off,  he  made  to  stand  for  700  instead  of  500,  as  I  have  placed  it.  I  nride  this  change 
fcs  the  notch  and  clip  standing  for  100  and  400,  coming  on  the  point  of  the  same  ear,  there  was  no  co» 
•  inalion  to  express  500. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH, 


179 


No.  44-1841. 


Fig.  18. 


No  375—1843. 


Fig.  19. 


One  notch  over  the  left  ear,  (that  which  is  on  your  left  when  the 
face  of  the  sheep  is  from  you,)  stands  for  1 ;  two  notches  over  the 
same,  for  2.  One  notch  under  the  left  ear  stands 
for  3.  Three  such  notches  carry  up  the  number  — 
to  9.  One  notch  over  the  right  ear  stands  for  10  ; 
two  such  for  20.  One  notch  under  the  same  stands 
for  30  ;  and  three  such  for  90.  Combinations  of  the 
above  (three  notches  under  each  ear)  would  carry 
up  the  number  to  99.  These  four  classes  of  notches 
which  express  all  parts  of  a  hundred,  are  shown  in 
the  first  of  the  annexed  cuts.  A  sheep  marked 
like  fig.  17  would  be  No.  44. 

A  notch  in  the  end  of  left  ear,  as  in  fig.  18, 
stands  for  100 ;  in  right  do.  200.  In  addition  to' 
these  there  are  on  the  same  cut  two  1  notches,  one 
3  notch,  one  10  do.,  and  two  30  do.  Adding  the 
whole  together,  the  sheep  would  therefore  be  No. 
375. 

As  the  100  and  200  notches,  together,  make  300, 
no  separate  notch  is  required  fpr  the  latter  number. 
The  point  of  the  left  ear  cut  square  off)  as  in  fig.  19, 
cut,  stands  for  400 ;  the  point  of  the  right  cut  square600 
off,  for  500.  The  latter  and  the  100  notch  would 
make  600,  and  so  on. 

The  lambs  of  each  year  and  each  sex  are  num- 
bered from  1. 

The  age  is  expressed  by  round  holes  through 
the  ears,  standing  for  the  year  in  which  the  sheep 
is  born.  As  there  is  no  possibility  of  making  a 
mistake  of  ten  years  in  the  age  of  a  sheep,  these  marks  are  the  same  be- 
tween each  tenth  year  of  the  century.  Between  1840  and  1850,  no  hole 
would  express  1840  ;  one  hole  in  the  left  ear,  1841 ;  two  holes  in  the  left 
ear,  1842  ;  one  hole  in  the  right  ear,  1843  ;  one  hole  in  the  right  and  one  iit 
the  left,  1844  ;  one  hole  in  the  right  and  two  in  the  left,  1845 ;  two  in  the- 
right,  1846  ;  two  in  the  right  and  one  in  the  left,  1847  ;  two  in  each,  1848  ; 
three  in  the  right,  1849  ;  none  in  either,  1850 — and  the  same  for  the  next 
ten  years.  Examples  are  given  in  the  preceding  cuts.  In  other  words, 
one  hole  in  the  left  ear  signifies  1,  and  one  in  the  right  3,  as  applied  to 
the  years  between  each  tenth  of  a  century — and  the  combinations  of  these 
holes  are  made  to  express  all  the  intermediate  years,  with  the  exception 
of  the  tenth. 

Every  ewe,  when  turned  in  with  the  ram,  should  be  given  a  mark  (en- 
tirely distinct  from  the  mark  of  ownership)  which  will  continue  visible  un- 
til the  next  shearing.  Nothing  is  better  for  this  purpose  than  Venetian. 
Red  and  hog's  lard,  well  incorporated,  and  marked  on  with  a  cob.  The 
ewes  for  each  ram  require  a  differently  shaped  mark,  and  the  mark  should 
also  be  made  on  the  ram,  or  a  minute  of  it  in  the  sheep-book.  Thus  it 
can  be  determined  at  a  glance  by  what  ram  the  ewe  was  tupped,  any  time 
before  the  next  shearing. 

The  holes  in  the  ears,  indicating  the  year,  being  the  same  on  the. whole 
annual  crop  of  lambs,  may  be  made  at  any  convenient  time.  The  holes 
are  most  conveniently  made  by  a  saddler's  spring-punch,  the  cutting  cyl- 
inder of  which  is  about  ^  of  an  inch  in  diameter.  If  too  small,  the  holes- 
will  grow  up  in  healing. 

Jn  numbering,  it  is  difficult  to  prevent  mistakes,  if  it  is  deferred  unti) 


No.  909-1848. 


ISO 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


the  lamb  attains  much  size.  If  penned  with  the  clams  wher»  a  month  ot 
two  old,  hours  will  sometimes  elapse  before  each  lamb  will  suck — the  only 
certain  indication  to  which  ewe  it  belongs.  It  being  perfectly  safe  to  per- 
form this  process  when  the  lamb  is  only  about  a  day  old  (or  as  soon  -as  the 
lamb  can  walk,  if  it  is  a  strong  one),  the  shepherd  carries  the  notclier  in 
his  pocket,  and  a  little  book,  each  page  being  ruled  into  six  columns,  and 
headed  as  in  the  register  presently  given.  This  constitutes  the  day-book, 
which  is  subsequently  drawn  off  on  the  Register. 

The  notcher  which  I  use  is  of  my  own  invention,  and  I  have  found  it  far 
preferable  to  any  I  have  seen  elsewhere.  It  consists  of  a  saddler's  spring- 
punch — the  cutting  cylinder  being  taken  out,  and  a  little  sharp  chisel  of 
the  same  length  being  screwed  in  its  place.  The  edge  of  the  chisel  de- 
scribes a  semi-ellipsis,  cutting  a  notch  out  of  the  ear  ^  of  an  inch  deep,  and 
a  little  over  T3g-  wide  at  the  base.  A  triangular  cut  in  the  ear,  with  so  nar- 
row a  base,  will  grow  together  for  some  distance  from  the  apex.  This 
instrument  is  far  more  convenient  than  a  chisel  and  block. 

The  shepherd,  on  finding  a  lamb  of  the  right  age  to  mark,  goes  quietly- 
up  to  it,  stopping  it  by  the  neck  with  his  crook  if  it  attempts  to  run  away. 
The  ewe  will  come  near  enough,  in  a  moment  or  two,  to  be  secured  by 
the  crook,  and  then  the  shepherd  notes  her  number  and  age,  and  enters  it 
in  his  pocket-book,  and  also  by  what  ram  tupped.  The  lamb  then  is  num- 
bered with  the  notcher,  and  this  and  its  general  appearance  is  noted  down 
in  the  appropriate  columns.  If  the  ewe  is  too  wild  to  be  caught,  the  lamb 
may  be  notched — the  number  of  the  sire,  &c.,  entered — and  the  number 
of  the  ewe  subsequently  ascertained  in  the  pen. 

I  have  two  forms  of  Breeding  Registers,  originally  furnished  me  by  my 
lamented  friend,  the  late  Mr.  Grove.  One  contains  ten  columns,  the  other 
eight.  I  have  adopted  the  simplest  one,  omitting  two  of  the  columns, 
which  leaves  the  Register  in  the  following  form  : 

BREEDING  REGISTER— 1845. 


No.  of 
Dam. 

Tnpi/d  ly 
Ram  No. 

Date  of 
Lambing. 

No.  of 
Rams. 

Lamb. 
Ewes. 

Classification  and  Remarks. 

22—40 

16—39 

May  4. 

1 

Coarsish  —  wrinkly  —  thick,  short-legged,  and  stout  — 
bad  crops  —  ewe  plentv  of  milk,  and  kind. 

50—  41 

25—42 

May  4. 

1 

Fine  —  thin  —  long-legged  —  wool  short  —  will  lack 
constitution  —  ewe  kind  —  little  milk. 

f  Small,    but  of  good   shape   and   fine  wool  —  No.  3 

6—42 

7—43 

May  5. 

2&3 

)     wrinkly  and  like  sire  —  No.  2  more  like  dam.  — 

^     Ewe  plenty  of  milk,  but  careless. 

?The  lamb  was  born  dead,  very  small.     Same  last 

11—41 

7—43 

May  5. 

}     year.     This  ewe  had   better  be  thrown  out  of 

£     breeding. 

The  first  entry  above  records  the  following  facts  :  "  The  ewe  No.  22, 
born  in  1840,  tupped  by  the  ram  No.  16  of  1839,  dropped  on  the  4th  of 
May  a  ram  lamb,  which  was  marked  No.  1,  its  character  being  as  described 
under  the  head  of  '  Classification  and  Remarks.'  ' 

The  column  of  "  Remarks"  is  a  very  important  one,  if  the  minutes  are 
made  with  accuracy  and  judgment.  It  should  include  an  enumeration  of 
all  the  prominent  characteristics  of  the  lamb,  and  of  the  appearances  of 
the  ewe  as  a  breeder  and  nurse.  These  records  will,  in  a  single  season, 
decide  the  character  of  a  ram  as  a  stock-getter,  and  that  of  the  ewe,  in  a 
year  or  two,  as  a  breeder  and  nurse. 

EMASCULATION  AND  DOCKING. — These  should  usually  precede  washing, 
as  at  that  period  the  oldest  lambs  will  be  about  a  month  old,  and  it  is  safer 
10  perform  the  operations  when  they  are  a  couple  of  weeks  younger.— 
Dry,  pleasant  weather  should  be  selected.  Castration  is  a  simple  and  safe 

(644, 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


181 


process.  Let  a  man  hold  the  lamb  with  its  back  pressed  finely  against 
his  breast  and  stomach,  and  all  four  legs  gathered  in  front  in  his  hands. — 
Cut  off  the  bottom  of  the  pouch,  free  the  testicle  from  the  inclosing  mem- 
brane, and  then  draw  it  steadily  out,  or  clip  the  cord  with  a  knife,  if  it 
does  not  snap  off  at  a  proper  distance  from  the  testicle.  Some  shepherds 
draw  both  testicles  at  once  with  their  teeth.  It  is  common  to  drop  a  little 
salt  into  the  pouch.  Where  the  weather  is  very  warm,  some  touch  tho 
end  of  the  pouch  (and  that  of  the  tail,  after  that  is  cut  off)  with  an  oint- 
ment, consisting  of  tar,  lard,  and  turpentine.  In  ninety-nine  cases  out  of. 
a  hundred,  however,  they  will  do  just  as  well,  here,  without  any  application. 

The  tail  should  be  cut  off,  say  one  and  a  half  inches  from  the  body,  with 
a  chisel  on  the  head  of  a  block,  the  skin  being  slid  up  toward  the  body 
with  a  finger  and  thumb,  so  that  it  will  afterward  cover  the  end  of  the 
stump.  Severed  with  a  knife,  the  end  of  the  tail  being  grasped  with  one 
of  the  hands  in  the  ordinary  way,  a  naked  stump  is  left  which  it  takes 
some  time  to  heal. 

It  may  occur  to  some  unused  to  keeping  sheep,  that  it  is  unnecessary  to 
cut  off  the  tail.  If  left  on,  it  is  apt  to  collect  filth,  and,  if  the  sheep  purges, 
it  becomes  an  intolerable  nuisance. 

WASHING. — This  is  usually  done  here  about  the  first  of  June.  The  cli- 
mate of  the  Southern  States  would  admit  of  its  being  done  earlier.  The 
rule  should  be  to  wait  until  the  water  has  acquired  sufficient  warmth  for 
bathing,  and  until  cold  rains  and  storms,  and  cold  nights,  are  no  longer  to 
be  expected. 

Sheep  are  usually  washed  by  our  best  flock-masters  in  vats.  A  small 
stream  is  dammed  up,  and  the  water  taken  from  it  in  an  aqueduct  (formed 
by  nailing  boards  together),  and  carried  until  sufficient  fall  is  obtained  to 
have  it  pour  down  a  couple  of  feet  or  more  into  the  vat.  The  body  of 
water,  to  do-  the  work  fast  and  well,  should  be  considerable — say  24  inches 
wide,  and  five  or  six  deep — and  the  swifter  the  current  the  better.  The 
vat  should  be  say  3^-  feet  deep,  and  large  enough  for  four  sheep  to  swim 
in  it.  A  yard  is  built  near  the  vat,  and  a  platform  from  the  gate  of  the 
yard  extends  to  and  encircles  the  vat  on  three  sides.  This  keeps  the  washer 

Fig.  20. 


WASHING    APPARATUS. 


from  standing  in  the  water,  and  makes  it  much  easier  to  lift  the  sheep  ip 
and  out.    The  cut  here  given  exhibits  all  the  necessary  appendages.    The 


182  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

yard  is  built  opposite  the  corners  of  two  fields  (1  and  2),  to  take  advantage  of 
the  angle  of  one  of  them  (1),  to  drive  the  sheep  more  readily  into  the  yard 
(3).  This  yard  should  be  large  enough  to  hold  the  whole  flock,  if  it  does  nc  t 
exceed  200  ;  and  the  bottom  of  it,  as  well  as  of  the  smaller  yard  (5),  un- 
less well  sodded  over,  should  be  covered  with  coarse  gravel,  to  avoid  be- 
coming muddy.  If  the  same  establishment  is  used  by  a  number  of  flock- 
masters,  graveling  will  be  always  necessary.  As  soon  as  the  flock  are 
confined  in  yard  3,  the  lambs  are  all  immediately  caught  out  from  among 
them,  and  set  over  the  fence  into  yard  4.  This  is  to  prevent  their  being 
trampled  down,  as  it  often  happens,  by  the  old  sheep,  or  straying  off  if  let 
loose.  As  many  sheep  are  then  driven  out  of  yard  3  into  the  smaller  yard 
5  as  it  will  conveniently  hold.  A  boy  stands  by  the  gate  next  to  the  vat, 
to  open  and  shut  it  (or  the  gate  is  drawn  shut  with  a  chain  and  weight),  and 
two  men,  catching  the  sheep  as  directed  under  the  head  of  tagging,  com- 
mence placing  them  in  the  water  for  the  preparatory  process  of  "wetting." 
As  soon  as  the  water  strikes  through  the  wool,  which  occupies  but  an  In- 
stant, the  sheep  is  lifted  out  and  let  loose.*  The  vat  should,  of  course,  be 
in  an  inclosed  field,  to  prevent  their  escape.  The  whole  flock  should  thus 
be  passed  over,  and  again  driven  round  through  field  1  into  yard  3,  where 
they  should  stand,  say,  an  hour,  before  washing  commences.  There  is 
a  large  per  centage  of  potasht  in  the  wool  oil,  which  acts  upon  the  dirt, 
independently  of  the  favorable  effect  which  would  result  from  thus 
soaking  it  for  some  time  with  water  alone.  If  washed  soon  after  a  good 
shower,  previous  wetting  might  be  dispensed  with  ;  and  it  is  not  absolutely 
necessary,  perhaps,  in  any  case.  If  the  water  is  warm  enough  to  keep  the 
sheep  in  it  for  the  requisite  period,  they  may  be  got  clean  by  washing 
without  any  previous  wetting— -though  the  snowy  whiteness  of  fleece  which 
tells  so  on  the  purchaser,  is  not  so  often  nor  BO  perfectly  attained  in  the 
latter  way.  Little  time  is  saved  by  omitting  "  wetting,"  as  it  takes  propor- 
tionably  longer  to  wash,  and  it  is  not  so  well  for  the  sheep  to  be  kept  such 
a  length  of  time  in  the  water  at  once. 

When  the  washing  commences,  two  and  sometimes  four  sheep  are 
plunged  into  the  vat.  When  four  are  put  in,  two  soak  while  two  are 
washed.  But  this  should  not  be  done,  unless  the  water  is  very  warm,  and 
the  washers  are  uncommonly  quick  and  expert.  On  the  whole,  it  is  rather 
an  objectionable  practice,  for  few  animals  suffer  as  much  from  the  effects 
of  a  chill  as  sheep.  If  they  have  been  previously  wetted,  it  is  wholly  un- 
necessary. When  the  sheep  are  in  the  water,  the  two  washers  commence 
kneading  the  wool  with  their  hands  about  the  breech,  belly,  &c.,  (the 
dirtier  parts,)  and  they  then  continue  to  turn  the  sheep  so  that  the  descend- 
ing current  of  water  can  strike  into  all  parts  of  the  fleece.  As  soon  as 
the  sheep  are  clean,  which  may  be  known  by  the  water  running  entirely 
clear,  each  washer  seizes  his  own  by  the  fore  parts,  plunges  it  deep  in  the 
vat,  and  taking  advantage  of  the  rebound,  lifts  it  out,  setting  it  gently 
down  on  its  breech  on  the  platform.  He  then,  if  the  sheep  is  old  or 
weak,  (and  it  is  well  in  all  cases,)  presses  out  some  of  the  water  from  the 
wool,  and  after  submitting  the  sheep  to  a  process  presently  to  be  adverted 
to,  lets  it  go.  There  should  be  no  mud  about  the  vat,  the  earth  not  cov- 
ered with  sod,  being  graveled.  Sheep  should  be  kept  on  clean  pastures 
from  washing  to  shearing — not  where  they  can  come  in  contact  with 

*  Where  there  are  conveniences  for  BO  doing,  this  process  may  be  more  easily  performed  by  driving  tha 
•beep  through  a  stream  deep  enough  to  compel  them  to  swim.  But  swimming  the  compact-fleeced,  fine- 
wcoled  sheep  for  any  length  of  time,  as  is  practiced  with  the  Long- Wools  in  England,  will  not  properly 
cleanse  the  wool  for  shearing 

t  Vauquelin,  quoted  by  Youatt,  says  that  it  consists  mostly  of  soapy  matter  with  a  basis  of  potash;  % 
Carb.  of  potash ;  3.  Acetate  of  potash;  4.  Lime ;  5.  Muriate  of  potash 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOLTH.  183 

the  ground,  burnt  logs,  &c. — and  they  should  not  be  driven  over  dusty 
roads. 

The  washers  should  be  strong  and  careful  men,  and  protected  as  they 
are  from  anything  but  the  water  running  over  the  sides  of  the  vat,  they 
can  labor  several  hours  without  inconvenience,  and  without  drinking 
whisky  until  they  cease  to  know  whether  a  sheep  is  well  washed  or  well 
treated,  as  was  the  bad  old  fashion.  Two  hundred  sheep  will  employ  two 
expert  men  not  over  half  a  day,  and  I  have  known  this  rate  much  ex- 
ceeded. 

It  is  a  great  object,  not  only  as  a  matter  of  propriety  and  honesty,  but 
even  as  a  matter  of  profit,  to  get  the  wool  clean  and  of  a  snowy  whiteness. 
It  will  always  sell  for  more  than  enough  extra,  in  this  condition,  to  offset 
against  the  increased  labor  and  the  diminution  in  weight. 

Mr.  Lawrence  wrote  me,  a  few  years  since,  that  the  average  loss  in 
American  Saxon  wool,  in  scouring,  (after  being  washed  on  the  back,)  was 
36  per  cent.,  and  in  American  Merino  42J  per  cent. ! 

CUTTING  THE  HOOFS. — The  hoofs  of  fine-wooled  sheep  grow  rapidly, 
turn  up  in  front  and  under  at  the  sides,  and  must  be  clipped  as  often  as 
once  a  year,  or  they  become  unsightly,  give  an  awkward,  hobbling  gait  to 
the  sheep,  and  the  part  of  the  horn  which  turns  under  at  the  sides  holds 
dirt  or  dung  in  constant  contact  with  the  soles,  and  even  prevents  it  from 
being  readily  shaken  or  washed  out  of  the  cleft  of  the  foot  in  the  natural 
movements  of  the  sheep  about  the  pastures,  as  would  take  place  were  the 
hoof  in  its  proper  shape.  This  greatly  aggravates  the  hoof-ail,  and  the 
difficulty  of  curing  it — and  in  England  it  is  thought  to  originate  the 
disease. 

It  is  customary  to  clip  the  hoofs  at  tagging,  or.  at  or  soon  after  the  time 
of  shearing.  Some  employ  a  chisel  and  mallet  to  shorten  the  hoofs,  but 
then  the  sheep  must  be  subsequently  turned  on  its  back  to  pare  off  the 
projecting  and  curling-under  side  crust.  If  the  weather  be  dry,  or  the 
sheep  have  stood  for  some  time  on  dry  straw,  (as  at  shearing,)  the  hoofs 
are  as  tough  as  horn,  and  are  cut  with  great  difficulty — and  this  is  in- 
creased by  the  grit  and  dirt  which  adheres  to  the  sole,  and  immediately 
takes  the  edge  off'from  the  knife. 

The  above  periods  are  ill  chosen,  arid  the  methods  slow  and  bungling. 
It  is  particularly  improper  to  submit  heavily  pregnant  ewes  to  all  this  un 
necessary  handling  at  the  time  of  tagging. 

When  the  sheep  is  washed  and  lifted  out  of  the  vat,  and  placed  on  its 
rump  on  the  platform,  the  gate-keeper 

advances  with  a  pair  of  toe-nippers,  and  Fis- 21- 

the  washer  presents  each  foot  sepa- 
rately, pressing  the  toes  together  so 
they  can  be  severed  at  a  single  clip. 

The  nippers  shown  in  the  cut,  can  be  TOE-NIPPERS. 

made  by  any  blacksmith  who  can  tem- 
per an  ax  or  chisel.  They  must  be  made  strong,  with  handles  a  little 
more  than  a  foot-  long,  the  rivet  being  of  half-inch  iron  and  confined  with 
a  nut,  so  that  they  may  be  taken  apart  for  sharpening.  The  cutting  edge 
should  descend  upon  a  strip  of  copper  inserted  in  the  iron,  to  prevent  it 
from  being  dulled.  With  this  powerful  instrument,  the  largest  hoofs  are 
severed  with  a  moderate  compression  of  the  hand.  Two  well-sharpened 
knives,  which  should  be  kept  in  a  stand  or  box  within  reach,  are  then 
grasped  by  the  washer  and  assistant,  and  with  two  dexterous  strokes  to 
each  foot,  the  side  crust  (being  free  from-  dirt,  and  soaked  almost  as  soft  as 


L84 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


a  cucumber,)  is  reduced  to  the  level  of  the  solea.  Two  expert  men  will 
go  through  these  processes  in  less  time  than  it  will  take  to  read  this  de- 
scription of  them ! 

The  closer  the  paring  and  clipping,  the  better,  if  blood  is  not  drawn 
An  occasional  sheep  may  require  clipping  again  in  the  fall. 

TIME  BETWEEN  WASHING  AND  SHEARING. — This  depends  altogether  01 
circumstances.  From  four  to  six  days  of  bright  warm  weather  is  suffi 
cient.  If  cold  and  rainy,  or  cloudy,  more  time  must  elapse.  I  have  known 
the  wool  to  remain  in  an  unfit  condition  to  shear  a  fortnight  after  washing. 
The  rule  is,  the  water  should  be  thoroughly  dried  out,  and  the  natural  oil 
of  the  wool  should  so  far  exude  as  to  give  the  wool  an  unctuous  feel  and 
a  lively,  glittering  look.  If  you  shear  it  when  dry,  like  cotton,  before  the 
oil  has  exuded,  you  cheat  yourself,  and  the  wool  will  not  keep  so  well  for 
long  periods.*  If  you  leave  it  until  it  gets  too  oily,  you  cheat  the  manu- 
facturer, or  what  more  often  happens,  you  lose  on  the  price. 

SHEARING — Is  always  done,  in  this  country,  on  the  threshing-floors  of 
our  barns,  sometimes  on  low  platforms,  but  more  commonly  on  the  floor 
itself.  The  following  cut  represents  a  common  Northern  barn  properly 
arranged  for  this  purpose. 

Fig.  22. 


SHEARING  ARRANGEMENTS. 

On  the  threshing-floor,  three  men  are  seen  shearing — two  of  them  using 
a  low  table  or  platform,  say  18  or  20  inches  high.  The  "bay  "t  (1,  2) 
nearest  the  eye  is  divided  by  a  temporary  fence,  one  part  (1)  being  used 
for  the  yarding  of  the  sheep,  and  the  other  (2)  for  doing  up  the  wool,  &c. 
The  inclosure  1  should  communicate  by  a  door  with  another  and  larger 
yard  outside  of  the  barn.  Both  of  these  should  be  well  littered  down  with 

*  It  is  also  very  difficult  to  thrust  the  shears  through  this  dry  wool  in  shearing. 

t  The  room  for  storing  hay,  grain.  &c.,  which  is  always  found  on  one.  and  sometimes  on  each  side  of  the 
threshing-flocr  in  a  Northern  barn,  is  provincially  termed  a  "  bay  "—and  the  low  division  between  this  and 
the  threshing  floor  a  "  breastwork." 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  185 

straw,  and  fresh  straw  thrown  on  occasionally,  to  keep  the  sheep  clean 
while  shearing.  No  chaff,  or  other  substances  which  will  stick  in  the  wool, 
should  be  used  for  this  purpose.  When  the  dew  has  dried  off  from  the; 
sheep,  on  the  morning  chosen  for  shearing,  a  portion  of  the  flock  sufficient 
to  last  the  shearers  half  a  day,  is  driven  into  the  outside  yard,  and  a  con- 
venient number  into  the  bay  (1).  An  assistant  catches  the  sheep,  lifts 
them  off  from  the  floor  as  already  directed,  and  delivers  them  at  the  door 
through  the  "  breastwork  "  (3)  to  each  shearer.  The  shearer  before  taking 
the  sheep,  picks  off  any  loose  straws  sticking  to  its  wool,  and  if  dung  ad- 
heres to  any  of  the  feet,  brushes  it  off  with  a  little  besom  formed  of  twigs, 
hung  up  near  the  door  for  that  purpose.  The  shearer  then  takes  the  sheep 
to  his  stand,  and  commences  shearing. 

The  floor  or  tables  used  for  shearing  should  be  planed  or  worn  perfectly 
smooth,  so  that  they  will  not  hold  dirt  or  catch  the  wool.  They  all  should 
'"6  thoroughly  cleaned,  and^  if  necessary,  washed,  preparatory  to  shearing. 
It  is  the  catcher's  business  to  keep  the  floor  constantly  swept,  dung  re- 
moved, &c.  Having  a  new  stand  or  place  swept  for  the  shearer  who  has 
iust  finished  his  sheep,  he  catches  him  another,  and  then  clears  up  the 
stand  previously  occupied.  He  first  lifts  the  fleece,  gathers  it  up  so  that 
It  shall  not  be  torn  or  drawn  asunder,  and  turning  his  arms  so  as  to  invert 
it,  (i.  e.y  bring  the  roots  of  the  wool  downward,)  deposits  it  on  \he  folding- 
table  (4).  ] le  then  picks  up  the  "fribs"  (small  loose  locks)  left  on  the 
floor,  which  are  deposited  in  a  basket  or  on  a  corner  of  the  table.  Lastly, 
he  sweeps  the  spot  clean,  to  be  again  occupied  by  the  shearer.  An  active 
fellow  will  tend  four  shearers,  and  do  up  the  fleeces.  But  he  should  not 
be  hurried  too  much,  or  he  cannot  give  sufficient  time  to  doing  up.  A 
small  boy  or  two  are  handy  to  pick  up  fribs,  sweep,  &c. 

If  there  are  any  sheep  in  the  pen  dirty  from  purging  or  other  causes, 
they  should  first  be  caught  out,  to  prevent  them  from  dirtying  the  others. 

It  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  give  intelligible  practical  instructions 
which  would  guide  an  entire  novice  in  skillfully  shearing  a  sheep.  Prac- 
tice is  requisite.  The  following  directions  from  the  American  Shepherd,* 
are  correct,  and  are  as  plain,  perhaps,  as  they  can  be  made : 

"  The  shearer  may  place  the  sheep  on  that  part  of  the  floor  assigned  to  him,  resting  on  its 
rump,  and  himselt  in  a  posture  with  one  (his  right)  knee  on  a  cushion,  and  the  back  of  the  ani- 
mal resting  against  his  left  thigh.  He  grasps  the  shears  about  half-way  from  the^oint  to  the 
how,  resting  his  thumb  along  the  blade,  which  affords  him  better  command  of  the  points. 
He  may  then  commence  cutting  the  wool  at  the  brisket,  and  proceeding  downward,  all  upon 
the  sides  of  the  belly  to  the  extremity  of  the  rib.s,  the  external  sides  of  both  thighs  to  the 
edges  of  the  flanks  ;  then  back  to  the  brisket,  and  thence  upward,  shearing  the  wool  from  tho 
oreast,  front,  and  both  sides  of  the  neck — but  not  yet  the  back  of  it — and  also  the  poll  or 
Tore  part,  and  top  of  the  head.  Now  the  'jacket  is  opened '  of  the  sheep,  and  its  position 
and  that  of  the  shearer  is  changed,  by  being  turned  flat  upon  its  side,  one  knee  of  the  shearer 
resting  on  the  cushion,  and  the  other  gently  pressing  the  fore  quarter  of  the  animal,  to  pn> 
vent  any  struggling.  He  then  resumes  cutting  upon  the  flank  and  rump,  and  thence  on- 
ward to  the  head.  Thus  one  side  is  complete.  The  sheep  is  then  turned  on  to  the  other 
side,  in  doing  which  great  care  is  requisite  to  prevent  the  fleece  from  being  torn,  and  the 
shearer  acts  as  upon  the  other,  which  finishes.  He  must  then  take  his  sheep  near  to  the 
door  through  which  it  is  to  pass  out,  and  neatly  trim  the  legs,  and  leave  not  a  solitary  loci' 
anywhere  as  a  harbor  for  ticks.  It  is  absolutely  necessary  for  him  to  remove  from  his  stand 
to  trim,  otherwise  the  useless  stuff  from  the  legs  becomes  intermingled  with  the  fleece-wool. 
In  the  use  of  the  shears,  let  the  blades  be  laid  as  flat  to  the  skin  as  possible,  not  lower  the 
points  too  much,  nor  cut  more  than  from  one  to  two  inches  at  a  clip,  frequently  not  so  much, 
depending  on  the  part  and  compactness  of  the  wool." 

•In  addition  to  the  above,  I  would  remark  that  the  wool  should  be  cut 
off  as  close  as  conveniently  practicable,  and  even.  It  maybe  cut  too  close, 
BO  that  the  sheep  can  scarcely  avoid  "  sun-scaH,"  but  this  is  very  unusual 

-  Pages  179, 180. 

2  A 


]S6  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE   SOUTH. 

If  the  wool  is  left  ridgy  and  uneven,  it  betrays  that  want  of  workmanship 
which  is  so  distasteful  to  every  good  farmer.*  Great  care  should  be  taken 
not  to  cut  the  wool  twice  in  two,  as  inexperienced  shearers  are  apt  to  do. 
It  is  a  great  damage  to  the  wool.  It  is  done  by  cutting  too  far  from  the 
point  of  the  shears,  and  suffering  the  points  to  get  too  elevated.  Every 
time  the  shears  are  pushed  forward,  the  wool  before  cut  off  by  the  points, 
say  a  quarter  or  three-ieighths  of  an  inch  from  the  hide,  is  again  severed. 
To  keep  the  fleece  entire,  so  important  to  its  good  appearance  when  done 
up,  (and  therefore  to  its  salableness,)  it  is  very  essential  that  the  sheep  be 
held  easilyybr  itself,  so  that  it  will  not  struggle  violently.  To  hold  it  still 
by  main  strength,  no  man  can  do,  and  shear  it  well.  The  posture  of  the 
shearer  should  be  such  that  the  sheep  is  actually  confined  to  its  position, 
so  that  it  is  unable  to  start  up  suddenly  and  tear  its  fleece,  but  it  should 
not  be  confined  there  by  severe  pressure  or  force,  or  it  will  be  constantly 
'kicking  and  struggling.  Heavy-handed,  careless  men,  therefore,  always 
complain  of  getting  the  most  troublesome  sheep.  The  neck,  for  example, 
may  be  confined  to  the  floor  by  placing  it  between  the  toe  and  knee  of  the 
leg  on  which  the  shearer  kneels,  but  the  lazy  or  brutal  shearer  who  lets 
his  leg  rest  directly  on  the  neck,  soon  provokes  that  struggle  which  the 
animal  is  obliged  to  make  to  free  itself  from  severe  pain,  and  even  perhaps 
to  draw  its  breath  ! 

Good  shearers  will  shear,  on  the  average,  twenty-five  Merinos  per  day, 
and  a  new  beginner  should  not  attempt  to  exceed  from  one-third  to  one- 
half  that  number.  It  is  the  last  process  in  the  world  which  should  be  hur- 
ried, as  the  shearer  will  soon  leave  more  than  enough  wool  on  his  sheep  to 
pay  for  his  day's  wages. 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  but  enough  sheep  should  be  yarded  at  once 
for  half  a  day's  shearing.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  they  shear  much 
more  easily,  and  there  is  less  liability  of  cutting  the  skin,  when  they  are 
distended  with  food,  than  when  their  bellies  become  flabby  and  collapsed 
for  the  want  of  it.  This  precaution,  however,  is  often  necessarily  omitted 
in  showery  weather.  It  is  very  convenient  to  have  the  outside  pen  which 
communicates  with  the  "  bay,"  covered.  On  my  farm,  it  is  one  of  the 
regular  sheep-houses.  If  it  is  showery  over  night,  or  showers  come  up  on 
the  day  of  shearing,  a  couple  of  hundred  sheep  may  be  run  in  and  kept 
dry.  And  they  can  be  let  out  to  feed  occasionally  during  the  day  on 
short  grass.  If  let  out  in  long  wet  grass,  their  bellies  will  become  wetted. 
Wool  ought  not  to  be  sheared,  and  must  not  be  done  up,  with  any  water 
in  it.  

SHEARING  LAMBS,  AND  SHEARING  SHEEP  SEMI-ANNUALLY. — Shearing 
lambs  is,  in  my  judgment,  every  way  an  abominable  and  unprofitable  prac- 
tice— in  this  climate,  at  least.  The  lamb  will  give  you  the  same  wool  at  a 
year  old,  and  you  strip  it  of  its  natural  protection  from  cold  when  it  is 
young  and  tender,  for  the  paltry  gain  of  the  interest  on  a  pound  or  a  pound 
and  a  half  of  wool  for  six  months — not  more  than  two  or  three  cents— and 
this  all  covered  by  the  expense  of  shearing. 

I  am  aware  that  it  is  customary,  in  many  parts  of  the  South,  to  shear 
grown  sheep  twice  a  year;  and  there  may  be  a  reason  for  it  where  they 
receive  so  little  care  that  a  portion  are  expected  to  disappear  every  half- 
year,  and  the  wool  to  be  torn  from  the  backs  of  the  remainder  by  bushes, 
thorns,  &c.,  if  left  for  a  longer  period.  But  when  sheep  are  inclosed,  and 

*  I  hold  that  man  is  not  half*  farmer  who  has  not  a  dash  of  the  aesthetic  mixed  up  with  his  utilitarianism 
Profit  should  not  often  be  sacrificed  to  appearances,  but  where  they  are  strictly  compatible,  he  who 
sards  the  latter  betrays  a  sordid  and  uncultivated  mind. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH 


187 


FOLDING-TABLE. 


treated  as  domestic  animals,  there  may  be  less  barbarity  in  fall-shearing 
them  than  in  the  case  of  tender  larnbs,  but  I  cannot  conceive  of  any  better 
reason  for  it  than  in  the  former  case,  on  the  score  of  utility.  Any  gaip 
resulting  from  it  cannot  pay  the  additional  expense  it  occasions. 

DOING-UP  WOOL. — The  fleece  has  been  deposited  on  the  "  foldmg  table," 
and  he  whose  business  it  is  to  do  it  up,  first  proceeds  to  spread  it  out,  the 
outer  ends  upward,  bringing  every  part  to  its  natural  relative  position.— 
The  table,  with  a 

fleece  spread  out  on  FlS- 23- 

it,  is  represented  in 
fig.  23.  The  table 
should  be  large — 
say  five  feet  wide 
and  eight  long — that, 
if  necessary,  several 
unsprcad  fleeces  may 
be  put  upon  it  at  the 
same  time,  and  still 
give  room  for  spread- 
ing one.  It  should 
be  about  three  feet 
high.  After  the  fleece 
is  spread,  dung,  burs,  and  all  other  extraneous  substances  are  carefully  re- 
moved from  it  with  a  pair  of  shears.  It  is  then  pressed  together  with  the 
hands,  so  that  it  will  cover  but  little  if  any  more  space  than  it  would  oc- 
cupy on  the  skin  of  the  animal,  if  that  was  placed  unstretched  on  the  table, 
About  a  quarter  of  the  fleece,  lengthwise,  or  from  head  to  tail,  (represented 
by  1  in  the  above  cut,)  is  then  turned  or  folded  in  (inverting  it,)  toward 
the  middle.  The  opposite  side  (2)  is  next  folded  inward  in  the  same  way, 
leaving  the  fleece  in  a  long  strip,  say  18  inches  wide.  The  forward  end 
(3)  is  then  folded  toward  the  breech,  to  a  point  (represented  by  dotted 
line)  corresponding  with  the  point  of  the  shoulder.  The  breech  (4)  is  next 
folded  toward  the  head.  The  fleece  now  presents  an  oblong  square  rep- 
resented by  5  and  6.  On  the  breech,  in  a  small,  compact  bunch — so  they 
can  be,  subsequently,  readily  sepa- 
rated from  the  fleece-1- the  clean  fribs 
are  placed.  They  do  not  include 
"trimmings,"  (the  wool  from  the 
shanks,)  which  should  not  be  done  up 
in  the  fleeces.  The  fribs  may  be  laid 
in  at  some  earlier  stage  of  the  folding 
— but  if  thrown  on  top  of  the  fleece, 
as  is  very  customary,  before  it  is  fold- 
ed at  all,  they  show  through,  if  the 
latter  gets  strained  apart,  as  it  fre- 
quently happens  in  the  process  of  roll- 
ing— and  being  coarser  and  perhaps 
less  white  than  the  fine  shoulder  wool, 
they  injure  the  appearance  of  the 
fleece.  The  fleece  is  now  folded  to- 
gether by  turning  5  over  on  to  6,  and 
the  tyer  carefully  sliding  it  around  on  the  table  with  his  arms,  so  that 
the  shoulder  shall  be  toward  him,  it  appears  as  in  fig.  24,  ready  to 
go  into  the  wool-trough.  The  wool-trough,  which  is  above  represented 


Fig.  24. 


KMtAMD 


WOOL-TROUGH. 


18S  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

with  one  of  its  sides  off,  to  exhibit  the  interior  arrangement,  should  form 
a  part  of  the  table,  and  should  be  about  91  inches  wide  and  9  deep,  and 
its  length  corresponding  with  the  width  of  the  table,  would  be  five  feet, 
Near  its  back  end,  and  about  one-third  of  its  width  from  each  side,  gimlet 
holes  are  bored  just  large  enough  for  the  passage  of  ordinary  wool-twine. 
Two  balls  of  twine  are  placed  in  a  vessel  beneath,  the  ends  passed  through 
the  holes,  and  the  whole  length  of  the  trough,  and  are  fastened  in  front  by 
being  drawn  into  two  slits  formed  by  sawing  a  couple  of  inches  into  the 
bottom  of  the  trough.  The  holes  and  slits  should  be  small  enough,  so  that 
the  twine  will  be  kept  drawn  straight  between  them. 

The  tyer  placing  his  hands  and  arms  (to  the  elbow)  on  each  side  of  the 
fleece  folded  as  above,  now  slides  it  into  the  trough.  There  are  two 
methods  of  having  it  lie  in  the  trough,  represented  by  the  following  cuts. 
That  on  the  left  is  the  more  ordinary,  but  not 
the  best  method.  It  will  bring  to  the  two  ends  ;  Fis- 25- 

of  the  done-up  fleece  (the  parts  most  seen  in  the 
wool-room)  the  ridge  of  the  back  and  two  lines 
half  way  down  each  side  of  the  sheep.  The  for- 
mer is  sometimes  a  little  weather-beaten,  and  if 
any  hay-seeds  have  fastened  in  the  fleece,  they 
show  most  on  the  back.*  And  the  two  lower 
lines  are  a  little  below  the  choicest  wool. — 
Placing  it  in  the  trough  as  in  the  right-hand  figure,  rolling  would  bring 
both  ends  of  the  fleece  from  the  wool  between  four  and  five  inches  from 
the  ridge  of  the  back,  the  choicest  part  of  the  fleece.  Besides,  the  edges 
of  the  breech  fold,  which  is  not  so  fine  as  the  shoulder,  which  sometimes 
show  by  the  first  method  of  rolling,  are  always  concealed  by  the  last. 

The  wool  being  in  the  trough,  the  tyer  steps  round  to  the  back  end  of 
it,  and  commences  rolling  the  fleece  from  the  breech  to  the  shoulder.  He 
rolls  it  as  tightly  as  possible,  pressing  it  down  and  exerting  all  the  strength 
of  his  hands — minding,  however,  not  to  tear  the  outside  fold — or  strain  it 
so  apart  as  to  ex*hibit  the  outer  ends  of  the  next  inside  layer  or  fold. 
When  the  rolling  is  completed,  he  keeps  it  tight  by  resting  the  lower  part 
of  his  left  arm  across  it,  reaches  over  with  the  right,  and  withdrawing  one 
of  the  ends  of  the  twine  from  the  slit,  places  it  in  the  left  hand.  Then 
seizing  the  twine  on  the  other  side  of  the  fleece  with  his  right  hand,  he 
draws  the  twine  once  about  the  fleece  with  his  whole  strength,  and  ties  it 
in  a  hard  or  square  knot.  The  fleece  will  then  keep  its  position,  and  the 
other  twine  is  tied  in  the  same  way.  The  twines  should  be  drawn  with  a 
force  that  would  cut  through  the  skin  of  a  tender  hand  in  a  few  moments.! 
The  twines  are  then  cut  within  an  inch  of  the  knots,  with  a 
pair  of  shears.  The  fleece  is  slid  out  of  the  end  of  the 
trough,  when  it  will  be  a  solid,  glittering  mass  of  snowy 
wool,  in  the  shape  shown  in  the  cut  on  the  right.  If  well 
and  tightly  done  up,  however,  the  divisions  given  on  the 
end  of  the  fleece,  in  the  cut,  to  exhibit  the  foldings,  will 
not  be  perceptible — and  nothing  but  an  unbroken  mass  of 
the  choicest  wool  of  the  fleece. 

The  twine  should  be  of  flax  or  hemp,  and  of  the  diameter  of  ordinary 
sized  hardware  twine.  Cotton  might  do,  if  smooth  and  hard  enough  so 
that  no  particles  of  it  could  become  incorporated  with  the  wool — in  which 
event  it  does  not  separate  from  the  wool  in  any  of  the  subsequent  processes, 
and  receiving  a  different  color  from  the  dyes,  spots  the  surface  of  the  cloth, 

*  Hay-Beed,  or  rather  its  chaff,  will  not  wash  entirely  out  of  wool. 

t  It  is  customary  with  some  tyers  to  wear  a  glove  on  the  right  hand—or  cote  on  the  two  fore-fingers. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  189 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  remark  that  it  is  considered  perfectly  fair  by 
the  purchaser,  to  take  all  the  pains  above  recommended,  to  "  put  the  best 
side  out  "  in  doing  up  wool,  provided  every  fleece  is  done  up  by  itself.  He 
expects  it,  and  graduates  his  prices  accordingly.  He  who  neglects  it, 
therefore,  cheats  himself.  But  to  do  up  coarser  fleeces,  or  any  parts  of 
them,  in  finer  ones — put  in  "  trimmings  " — leave  in  dung — or  use  unne- 
cessary twine — are  all  base  frauds.  Sometimes  the  careless  sheep-owner 
will  have  his  wool  filled  with  burs,  which  he  cannot  or  will  not  remove. 
In  that  case  he  is  bound  to  unequivocally  apprise  the  buyer  of  the  fact, 
and  allow  him  to  open  fleeces  until  satisfied  of  the  precise  extent  of  the 
evil.  

STORING  WOOL. — Wool  should  be  stored  in  a  clean,  tight,  dry  room.  It 
is  better  that  it  should  be  an  upper  room,  for  reasons  presently  to  be  given, 
and  it  should  be  plastered,  to  exclude  dust,  vermin,  insects,  &c.  Rats  and 
mice  love  to  build  their  nests  in  it,  to  which  they  will  carry  grain  chaff  and 
other  substances,  injuring  much  wool — and  it  is  singular  that  if  accessible 
to  the  common  bumble-bee,  numbers  of  their  nests  will  be  found  in  it.  A 
north  and  pretty  strong  light  is  preferable  for  a  wool-room. 

When  the  wool-tyer  removes  each  fleece  from  the  trough,  he  places  it 
in  a  long,  high  basket,  capable  of  holding  a  dozen  fleeces,  and  it  is  imme- 
diately carried  to  the  wool-room — or  he  piles  it  on  the  clean  floor  in  the 
inclosure  in  which  his  table  stands,  to  be  subsequently  carried  away.  In 
oither  case,  the  fleeces  are  not  thrown  down  promiscuously,  which  injures 
their  shape,  but  are  laid  regularly  one  above  another,  on  their  sides.  In 
the  wool-room  it  is  laid  in  the  same  way  in  smooth,  straight  north  and 
south  rows  (supposing  the  light  to  be  let  in  from  the  north)  with  alleys 
between,  in  which  a  man  can  pass  to  inspect  the  wool.  The  rows  ought 
not,  perhaps,  to  b^  more  than  two  deep,  so  that  the  end  of  every  fleece  can 
be  examined,  but  as  it  cannot  be  piled  up  more  than  about  four  fleeces 
high  in  this  way,  without  liability  of  falling,  it  is  customary  to  make  the 
rows  three,  or  four  fleeces  deep — laying  the  lower  ones  a  little  wide,  so 
that  the  pile  may  slightly  recede  as  it  goes  up.  In  this  way  they  may  be 
piled  six  fleeces  high.  Where  the  character  of  the  flock  is  known,  or  that 
of  the  seller  relied  on,  it  makes  little  difference.  It  is  considered  fairest 
to  pile  the  fleeces  without  any  discrimination  as  to  quality,  in  the  wool- 
room. 

SACKING  WOOL. — When  the  wool  is  sold,  or  when  it  must  be  sent  away 
to  find  a  market,  it  is  put  up  in  bales  nine  feet  long,  formed  of  40-inch  • 
"  burlaps."  The  mouth  of  the  sack  is  sowed,  with  twine,  round  a  strono- 
hoop  (riveted  together  with  iron,  and  kept  for  the  purpose,)  and  the  body 
of  it  is  let  down  through  a  circular  aperture  in  the  floor  of  the  wool-room.* 
The  hoop  rests  on  the  edge  of  the  aperture,  and  the  sack  swings  clear  of 
the  floor  beneath.  A  man  enters  the  sack,  and  another  passes  the  fleeces 
down  to  him.  After  covering  the  bottom  with  a  layer,  he  places  a  fleece 
in  the  center  and  forces  down  others  around  it,  and  so  on  to  the,top,  which 
is  then  sowed  up.  Each  fleece  should  be  placed  regularly  with  tlie  Jiands, 
and  then  stamped  down  as  compactly  as  possible,  so  that  the  bale  when 
completed  shall  be  hard  and  well  filled  in  every  part.  The  bulk  of  a  given 
weight  of  wool  will  be  greatly  affected  by  the  care  with  which  this  pro- 
cess is  performed. 

Those  who  do  not  expect  buyers  to  come  and  look  at  their  wool,  sack 
it  immediately  after  shearing.     A  temporary  scaffolding  is  erected  near 

*  It  is  to  secure  this  convenience  that  the  wool-room  is  best  placed  on  the  second  floor. 


190 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


the  wool  as  deposited  by  the  tyer,  and  one  man  tosses  up  fleeces  to  a  sec- 
ond, who  catches  them  and  passes  them  down  to  the  man  in  the  sack.  A 
light  frame,  to  suspend  the  sack,  and  part  way  up  it  a  standing-place  for 
the  catcher,  would  be  a  convenient  appendage  to  the  establishment  of  a 
wool-grower  who  does  not  store  his  wool  in  a  wool-room.  With  a  set  of 
stairs  up  to  his  midway  standing-place,  an  active  fellow  would  keep  the 
treader  supplied,  without  any  assistance. 

In  the  absence  of  any  agreement,  the  price  of  wool,  delivered  at  the 
residence  of  the  purchaser,  does  not  include  the  cost  of  sacks  and  sacking. 
It  is  customary,  however,  for  growers  of  small  parcels,  and  those  who 
keep  no  conveniences  for  sacking,  to  carry  their  wool  tied  up  in  sheets, 
&c.,  and  deliver  it  to  the  purchaser  at  the  nearest  village  or  other  point, 
where  he  has  made  arrangements  for  sacking. 

SELECTION. — The  necessity  of  annually  weeding  the  flock,  by  excluding 
all  its  members  falling  below  a  certain  standard  of  quality,  and  what  the 
points  are  to  which  reference  should  be  had  in  establishing  that  standard, 
have  already  been  sufficiently  adverted  to  in  discussing  the  principles  of 
breeding.  The  time  of  shearing  is  by  far  the  most  favorable  one  for  the 
flockmaster  to  make  his  selection.  He  should  be  present  on  the  shearing- 
floor,  and  inspect  the  fleece  of  every  sheep  as  it  is  gradually  taken  off.  If 
there  is  a  fault  about  it,  he  will  then  discover  it  better  than  at  any  other 
time.  A  glance,  too,  reveals  to  him  every  fault  of  form,  previously  con- 
cealed wholly  or  in  part,  by  the  wool,  as  soon  as  the  newly  shorn  sheep 
is  permitted  to  stand  on  its  feet.  He  takes  down  the  number  and  age  of 
the  sheep  on  his  tablet,  and  if  not  sufficiently  defective  in  form  or  quality 
of  fleece  to  call  for  its  condemnation,  in  a  pair  of  scales  suspended  near  the 
wool-tyer's  table,  he  determines  the  weight  of  the  fleece.  If  this,  too,  is 
satisfactory,  he  marks  "  retained  "  opposite  the  sheep's  number  on  his  tab- 
let. If  more  or  less  defective  in  any  point,  he  weighs  this  against  the 
other  points — taking  also  into  consideration  the  age  of  the  sheep,  its  char- 
acter as  a  breeder,  its  nui'sing  properties,  quietness  of  disposition,  &c. — 
and  then,  in  view  of  all  these  points,  the  question  of  retention  or  exclusion 
is  settled.  A  remarkably  choice  ewe  is  frequently  kept  until  she  dies  of 
old  age.  A  poorish  nurse  or  breeder  would  be  excluded  for  the  lightest 
fault,  and  so  on.  I  have  been  in  the  habit,  for  a  number  of  years,  of  using 
a  book  kept  for  this  purpose,  each  page  being  ruled  and  headed  thus  : 


Niimber. 

Qua.l.  of  Fleece. 

Form. 

Wt.  of  Fleece. 

Conclusion. 

27,  '42 
30,  '44 

P- 
0. 

f. 
b. 

<i 

I: 

The  figures  in  the  first  column  signify  No.  27  of  the  year  1842,  and  No. 
30  of  the  year  1844.  The  letters  in  the  succeeding  columns  stand  for  the 
words  "  prime,"  "  fair,"  "  ordinary,"  and  "  bad  " — marking  the  gradations 
of  quality.  The  letters  in  the  last  column  signify  "  retained,"  or  "  ex- 
cluded." -Such  a  record  will  lead  to  far  greater  accuracy  than  by  any 
other  method,  and  it  is  extremely  valuable  for  purposes  hereafter  to  bo 
stated. 

If  the  sheep  are  not  numbered,  the  flock-master  should  note  each  appear- 
ance, as  above  directed,  have  the  sheep  held  by  the  neck  by  an  assistant, 
or  discharged  by  the  shearer  into  a  small  pen  at  the  door  for  that  purpose, 
until  the  fleece  is  weighed,  and  then  if  he  decides  to  exclude  it,  he  gives 
it  a  small  mark  on  the  shoulder,  consisting  of  Venetian  Red  and  hog's  lard, 
(conveniently  applied  with  a  brush  or  cob.) 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


MARKING  SHEEP.  —  The  sheep  should  be  marked  soon  after  shearing,  or 
mistakes  may  occur.  Every  owner  of  sheep  should  be  provided  with  a 
marking  instrument,  which  will  stamp  his  initials,  or  some  other  distinctive 
mark,  such  as  a  small  circle,  oval,  triangle,  square,  &c.,  at  a  single  stroke, 
and  with  uniformity,  on  the  sheep.  It  has  been  customary  here,  to  have 
the  mark  cut  out  of  a  plate  of  thin  iron,  with  an  iron  handle  terminated  by 
wood.  But  one  made  by  cutting  a  type  or  raised  letter  (or  character)  on 
the  end  of  a  stick  of  light  wood,  such  as  pine  or  basswood,  is  found  to  be 
better.  If  the  pigment  used  be  thin,  and  the  marker  be  thrust  into  it  a 
little  too  deeply,  as  often  happens,  the  surplus  will  not  run  off  from  the 
wood,  as  from  a  thin  sheet  of  iron,  to  daub  the  sides  of  the  sheep,  and 
spoil  the  appearance  of  the  mark  ;  and  if  the  pigment  be  applied  hot,  the 
former  will  not,  like  the  latter,  get  heated,  and  increase  the  danger  .of 
burning  the  hide.  Various  pigments  are  used.  Many  boil  tar  until  it 
will  assume  a  glazed,  hard  consistency,  when  cold,  and  give  it  a  brilliant 
black  color  by  stirring  in  a  little  lamp-black  when  boiling.  It  is  applied 
when  just  cold  enough  not  to  burn  the  sheep's  hide,  and  it  forms  a  bright, 
conspicuous  mark  the  year  round.  I  have  always  used  this,  though  the 
manufacturer  would  prefer  the  substitution  of  oil  and  turpentine  for  tar, 
as  the  latter  is  cleansed  out  of  the  wool  with  some  difficulty.  I  boil  it  in 
a  high-sided  iron  vessel  (to  prevent  it  from  taking  fire)  on  a  small  furnace 
or  chafing-dish  near  where  it  is  to  be  used.  When  cool  enough,  forty  or 
fifty  sheep  can  be  marked  before  it  gets  too  stiff.  It  is  then  warmed  from 
time  to  time,  as  necessary,  on  the  chafing-dish.  The  rump  is  a  better  place 
to  mark  than  the  side.  The  mark  is  about  as  conspicuous  on  the  former, 
under  any  circumstances,  and  it  is  more  so  when  the  sheep  are  huddled  in 
a  pen,  or  when  they  are  running  away  from  you.  And  should  any  wool 
lie  injured  by  the  mark,  that  on  the  rump  is  less  valuable  than  that  on  the 
side,  It  is  customary  to  distinguish  ewes  from  wethers  by  marking  them 
on  different  sides  of  the  rump. 

Many  mark  each  sheep  as  it  is  discharged  from  the  barn  by  the  shearer. 
It  consumes  much  less  time  to  do  it  at  one  job,  after  the  shearing  is  com- 
pleted ;  and  it  is  necessary  to  take  the  latter  course,  if  a  hot  pigment  is 
used.  _ 

COLD  STORMS  AFTER  SHEARING.  —  These  sometimes  destroy  sheep,  in 
this  latitude,  soon  after  shearing  —  particularly  the  delicate  Saxons.  I  have 
known  forty  or  fifty  perish  out  of  a  single  flock,  from  one  night's  expo- 
sure. The  remedy,  or  rather  the  preventive,  is  to  house  them,  or  in  de- 
fault of  the  necessary  fixtures  to  effect  this,  to  drive  them  into-dense  for- 
ests. I  presume,  however,  this  would  be  a  calamity  of  rare  occurrence  in 
the  "  sunny  South." 

SUN-SCALD  —  Might  be  more  common.  "When  sheep  are  sheared  close 
in  very  hot  weather  —  have  no  shade  in  their  pastures  —  and  particularly 
where  they  are  driven  immediately  considerable  distances,  or  rapidly,  over 
burning  and  dusty  roads,  their  backs  are  so  scorched  by  the  sun  that  the 
wool  comes  off.  It  is  not  common,  however,  here.  You  may  see  one 
Buch  in  a  flock  of  a  hundred.  Let  alone,  the  matter  is  not  a,  serious  one, 
.  but  the  application  of  refuse  lard  to  the  back  will  accelerate  the  cure,  and  , 
the  starting  of  the  wool. 

TICKS.  —  These,  when  very  numerous,  greatly  annoy  and  enfeeble  sheep 
in  the  winter,  ami  should  be  kept  entirely  out  of  the  flock.  After  shear- 
ng,  the  heat  and  sold,  the  rubbing  and  biting  of  the  sheep  soon  drive  off 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


DIPPING-BOX. 


fcbe  tick,  and  it  takes  refuge  in  the  long  wool  of  the  lamb.  Wait  a  fort- 
night after  shearing,  to  allow  all  to  make  this  transfer  of  residence.  Then 
boil  refuse  tobacco  leaves  until  the  decoction  is  strong  enough  to  kill  ticks 
beyond  a  peradventure.  This  may  be  readily  tested  by  experiment. 
Five  or  six  pounds  of  cheap  plug  tobacco,  or  an  equivalent  in  stems,  &c., 
may  be  made  to  answer  for  100  lambs.  The  decoction  is  poured  into  a 
deep,  narrow  box,  kept  for 

this  purpose,  and  which  has  !Fis-  ~1- 

an  inclined  shelf  one  one  side, 
covered  with  a  wooden  grate, 
as  shown  in  the  cut.  One 
man  holds  the  lamb  by  the 
hi  rid  legs,  another  clasps  the 
fore-legs  in  one  hand,  and 
shuts  the  other  about  the 
nostrils  to  prevent  the  liquid 
entering  them,  and  then  the 
lamb  is  entirely  immersed. 
It  is  immediately  lifted  out, 
laid  on  one  side  on  the  grate, 
and  the  water  squeezed  out 
of  its  wool.  It  is  then  turned 
over  and  squeezed  on  the 
other  side.  The  grate  con- 
ducts the  fluid  back  into  the 
box.  If  the  lambs  are  regu- 
larly dipped  every  year,  ticks  will  never  trouble  a  flock. 

The  effect  of  tobacco  water  in  scab,  will  be  hereafter  adverted  to. 

MAGGOTS. — Rams  with  horns  growing  closely  to  their  heads,  are  very 
liable  to  have  maggots  generated  under  them,  particularly  if  the  skin  on 
the  surrounding  parts  gets  broken  in  fighting,  and  these,  if  not  removed, 
soon  destroy  the  sheep.  Both  remedy  and  preventive  is  boiled  tar — or  the 
marking  substance  heretofore  described.  Put  it  under  the  horns,  at  the 
time  of  marking,  and  no  trouble  will  ever  arise  from  this  cause.  Some- 
times when  a  sheep  scours  in  warm  weather,  and  clotted  dung  adheres 
about  the  anus,  maggots  are  generated  under  it,  and  the  sheep  perishes 
miserably.  Preventive  :  remove  the  dung.  Remedy  :  remove  the  dung 
and  maggots,  the  latter  by  touching  them  with  a  little  turpentine,  and 
then  apply  sulphur  and  grease  to  the  excoriated  surface. 

Maggot  flies,  says  Blacklock,  sometimes  deposit  their  eggs  on  the  backs 
of  the  long,  open-wooled  English  sheep,  and  the  maggots  during  the  few 
days  before  they  assume  the  pupa  state,  so  tease  and  irritate  the  animal, 
that  fever  and  death  are  the  consequence.  Tar  and  turpentine,  or  butter 
and  sulphur,  smeared  over  the  parts  are  given  as  the  preventives.  The 
Merino  and  Saxon  are  exempt  from  these  attacks. 

SHORTENING  THE  HORNS. — A  convolution  of  the  horn  of  a  ram  sometimes 
so  presses  in  upon  the  side  of  the  head  or  neck,  that  it  is  necessary  to  shave 
or  rasp  it  away  on  the  under  side,  to  prevent  ultimately  fatal  effects.  The 
point  of  the  horn  of  the  ram  and  ewe  both  not  unfrequently  turn  in  so 
that  they  will  grow  into  the  flesh  and  sometimes  into  the  eye,  unless 
shortened.  The  toe-nippers  will  often  suffice  on  the  thin  extremity  of  a 
horn,  but  if  not,  a  fine  saw  must  be  used.  The  marking  time  is  the  best 
one  to  attend  to  this. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  19? 

DIVISION  OF  FLOCKS. — It  is  customary  at,  or  soon  after  shearing,  to  make 
those  divisions  in  large  flocks,  which  utility  demands.  It  is  better  to  have 
not  to  exceed  two  hundred  sheep  run  together  in  the  pastures,  though  the 
number  might  perhaps  be  safely  increased  to  three  hundred,  if  the  i  ango 
is  extensive.  Wethers  and  dry  ewes  to  be  turned  off,  should  be  kept  sep- 
arate from  the  nursing-ewes,  and  if  the  flock  is  sufficiently  numerous  to 
require  a  third  division,  it  is  customary  to  put  the  yearling  and  two-year- 
old  ewes  and  wethers  and  the  old,  feeble  sheep  together.  It  is  better  in 
all  cases  to  separate  the  rams  from  all  the  other  sheep,  at  the  time  of 
shearing,  and  to  inclose  them  in  a  particularly  well-fenced  field.  If  put 
even  with  wethers,  they  are  more  quarrelsome,  and  when  cool  nights  ar- 
rive, will  worry  themselves  arid  waste  their  flesh  in  constant  efforts  to  ride 
the  wethers.  The  Merino  ram  is  a  quiet  animal  compared  with  the  com- 
mon-wooled  one,  but  poor  fences,  or  fences  half  the  time  down,  will  tempt 
him  to  jump,  and  if  once  taught  this  trick,  he  becomes  very  troublesome 
as  the  rutting  period  approaches,  unless  hoppling,  yoking,  clogging,  or 
"  poking  "  is  resorted  to — either  of  which  causes  the  animal  to  waste  his 
flesh  and  strength,  and  are  the  causes  of  frequent  accidents. 

HOPPLING,  CLOGGING,  &c. — Hoppling  is  done  by  sowing  the  ends  of  a 
leathern  strap  (broad  at  the  extremities  so  that  it  will  not  cut  into  the 
flesh)  to  a  fore  and  hind  leg,  just  above  the  pastern  joints — leaving  the  legs 
at  about  the  natural  distance  apart.  Clogging  is  fastening  a  billet  of  wood 
to  the  fore  leg  by  a  leather  strap.  Yoking  is  fastening  two  rams  two  or 
three  feet  apart,  by  bows  around  their  necks,  inserted  in  a  light  piece  of 
timber,  say  two  by  three  inches  in  size.  Poking  is  done  by  inserting  a 
bow  in  a  short  bit  of  light  timber,  into  which  bit  (worn  on  the  under  side 
of  the  neck)  a  rod  is  inserted  which  projects  a  couple  of  feet  in  front  of 
the  sheep.  These,  and  similar  devices,  to  prevent  rams  scaling  fences,  may 
be  employed  as  a  last  resort,  by  those  improvident  farmers  who  prefer  by 
such  troublesome,  injurious,  and  at  best,  insecure  means,  to  guard  against 
that  viciousness  which  they  might,  so  much  more  easily,  have  prevented 
from  being  acquired. 

DANGEROUS  RAMS. — From  being  teased  and  annoyed  by  boys,  or  petted 
and  played  with  when  young — and  sometimes  without  any  other  stimulant 
than  a  naturally  vicious  temper — rams  occasionally  become  very  trouble- 
some by  their  propensity  to  attack  men  or  cattle.  I  know  of  one  for 
which  his  owner  has  refused  $250,  which  will  permit  no  man  to  enter  the 
field  with  him  without  making  an  immediate  onset  on  him.  I  have  known 
several  that  would  knock  down  the  ox  or  horse  which  presumed  to  dis- 
pute the  possession  of  a  lock  of  hay  with  them.  A  ram  which  is  known 
to  have  acquired  this  propensity  should  at  once  be  hooded,  and,  if  not 
valuable,  at  the  proper  season  converted  into  a  wether  by  "  cording."  But 
the  courage  thus  manifested,  is  usually  the  concomitant  of  great  strength 
and  vigor  of  constitution — and  of  a  powerfully  developed  frame.  If  good 
in  other  particulars;  it  is  a  pity  to  lose  the  services  of  such  an  animal.  I 
na\e  in  several  such  instances  hooded  them,  by  covering  their  faces  with 
leather  in  such  a  manner  that  they  could  only  see  a  little  backwaid  and 
downward.  They  mus*  then,  however,  be  kept  apart  from  the  flock  of 
rams,  or  they  will  soon  be  killed  or  injured  by  blows,  which  they  cannot 
see  to  escape, 

It  sometimes  happens  that  a  usually  quiet  tempered  ram  will  suddenly 
exhibit  some  pugnacity  when  you  are  salting  or  feeding  the  flock.  If  you 
turn  to  run,  you  are  immediately  knocked  down,  and  the  rain  learns,  at 


194  SHEEP    HUSBANDRY  IN   THE    SOUTH. 

that  single  lesson,  the  secret  of  his  mastery,  and  the  propensity  to  exercise 
it.  The  ram  giving  his  blow  from  the  summit  of  the  parietal  and  the  pos- 
terior portion  of  the  frontal  hones  on  the  top  of  the  head,  (and  not  from  the 
forehead,)  couches  his  head  so  low  when  he  makes  his  onset,  that  he  does 
not  see  forward  well  enough  to  swerve  suddenly  from  his  right  line,  and  a 
few  quick  motions  to  the  right  and  left  enable  you  to  escape  him.  Run  in 
upon  him,  as  he  dashes  by  you,  with  pitchfork,  club,  or  boot-heel — punish- 
ing him  severely  by  blows,  (about  the  head  if  the  club  is  used,)  and  giving 
him  no  time  to  rally  until  he  is  thoroughly  cowed.* 

FENCES. — Poor  fences  will  teach  ewes  and  wethers  to  jump,  as  well  EUJ 
rams,  and  for  a  jumping  flock  there  is  no  remedy  but  immoderately  high 
fences,  or  extirpation.  One  jumper  will  soon  teach  the  trick  to  a  whole 
flock,  and  if  one  by  chance  is  bought  in,  it  should  be  immediately  hoppled 
or  killed.  The  last  is  by  far  the  surest  and  safest  remedy. 

SALT. — Salt,  in  my  judgment,  is  indispensable  to  the  health  of  sheep, 
particularly  in  the  summer — and  I  know  not  a  flock-master  among  the  hun- 
dreds, nay,  thousands  with  whom  I  am  acquainted,  who  differs  with  me  in 
this  opinion.  It  is  common  to  give  it  once  a  week  while  the  sheeo  are  at 
grass. 

It  is  still  better  to  give  them  free  access  to  salt  at  all  times,  by 
it  in  a  covered  box,  open  on  one  side,  like  the  following: 

A  large  hollow  log, 
with  holes  cut  along  the 
side,  for  the  insertion 
of  the  heads  of  the  sheep 
will  make  a  respectable 
substitute.  A  sheep  hav- 
ing free  access  to  salt  at 
all  times,  will  never  eat 
too  much,  and  it  will  take 
its  supply  when  and  in 
what  quantities  Nature 

demands,  instead  of  eat-  SALTING-BOX. 

ing  voraciously  at  stated 

periods,  as  intermediate  abstinence  will  stimulate  it  do.  When  fed  but 
once  a  week,  it  is  better  to  have  a  stated  day,  so  that  it  will  not  be  forgot- 
ten, and  it  is  well  to  lay  the  salt  on  flat  stones,  though  if  laid  in  little 
handsfull  on  the  grass,  very  little  will  be  lost. 

TAR. — This  is  supposed  by  many  to  form  a  very  healthful  condiment  for 
sheep.  The  nose  of  the  sheep  is  smeared  with  it,  and  it  is  licked  and 
swallowed  as  the  natural  heat  of  the  flesh,  or  that  of  the  weather,  causes  it 
to  trickle  down  over  the  nostrils  and  lips.  Others,  suffering  the  flock  to 
get  unusually  salt  hungry,  place  tar  upon  flat  stones,  or  in  troughs,  and 
then  scatter  salt  on  it,  so  that  both  shall  be  consumed  together.  ^  Applied 
to  the  nose,  in  the  nature  of  a  cataplasm,  I  have  no  doubt  that  it  is  advan- 
tageous in  catarrhs — and  put  on  the  same  place,  at  the  proper  periods,  it 
may  perhaps,  by  its  odor,  repel  the  visitations  of  the  fly  ((Estris  ovisj,  the 
eggs  of  which  produce  the  "  grub  in  the  head."  As  a  medicine  it  may  be 
valuable,  and  evqn  as  a  detergent  in  the  case  specified,  but  as  a  condiment 

*  This  may  be  pronounced  harsh  "  measure  for  measure,"  and  some  may  think  it  would  tend1  to  increase 
the  viciousness  of  the  animal.  Repeated  instances  have  proved  the  contrary  to  me.  And  if  their  mastery 
is  onca  acknowledged,  it  is  never  forgotten  by  them. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  195 


simply,  for  a  perfectly  healthy  animal,  I  confess  I  have  no  confidence  in  it* 
utility.  

WATER.— Water  is  not  indispensable  in  the  summer  pastures,  the  dews 
and  the  succulence  of  the  feed  answering  as  a  substitute.  But  my  impres- 
sion is  decided  that  free  access  to  water  is  advantageous  to  sheep,  particu- 
larly to  those  having  lambs  ;  and  I  should  consider  it  a  matter  of  import- 
ance on  a  sheep  farm,  to  arrange  the  pastures,  if  practicable,  so  as  to 
bring  water  into  each  of  them. 

SHADE. — No  one  who  has  observed  with  what  eagerness  sheep  seek 
shade  in  hot  weather,  and  how  they  pant  and  apparently  suffer  when  a  hot 
sun  is  pouring  down  on  their  nearly  naked  bodies,  will  doubt  that,  both  as 
a  matter  of  humanity  and  utility,  they  should  be  provided,  during  the  hot 
summer  months,  with  a  better  shelter  than  that  afforded  by  a  common  rail 
fence.  Forest-trees  are  the  most  natural  and  best  shades,  and  it  is  as  con- 
trary to  utility  as  it  is  to  good  taste  to  strip  them  entirely  from  the  sheep- 
walks.  A  strip  of  stone-wall  or  close  board  fence  on  the  south  and  west 
sides  of  the  pasture,  will  form  a  passable  substitute  for  trees.  But  in  the 
absence  of  all  these,  and  of  buildings  of  any  kind,  a  shade  can  be  cheaply 
constructed  of  poles  and  brush,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  sheds  of  the 
same  materials  for  winter  shelter,  which  will  be  described  in  my  next  Letter. 

WEANING  LAMBS. — Lambs  should  be  weaned  at  four  months  old.  It  is 
better  for  them,  and  much  better  for  their  dams.  The  lambs  when  taken 
away  should  be  put  for  several  days  in  a  field  distant  from  the  ewes,  that 
they  may  not  hear  each  other's  bleatings.  The  lambs  when  in  hearing  of 
their  dams,  continue  restless  much  longer,  and  they  make  constant  and 
frequently  successful  efforts  to  crawl  through  the  fences  which  separate 
them.  One  or  two  tame  old  ewes  are  turned  into  the  field  with  them  to 
teach  them  to  come  at  the  call,  find  salt  when  thrown  to  them,  and  eat 
grain,  &c.,  out  of  troughs  when  winter  approaches. 

The  lambs  when  weaned  should  be  put  on  the  freshest  and  tenderest 
feed.  I  have  usually  reserved  for  mine  the  grass  and  clover  sown,  the  pre- 
ceding spring,  on  the  grain  fields  which  were  seeded  down. 

The  dams,  on  the  contrary,  should  be  put  for  a  fortnight  on  short,  dry 
feed,  to  stop  the  flow  of  milk.  They  should  be  looked  to,  once  or  twice, 
and  should  the  bags  of  any  be  found  much  distended,  the  milk  should  be- 
drawn  and  the  bag  washed  for  a  little  time  in  cold  water.  But  on  short, 
feed,  they  rarely  give  much  trouble  in  this  particular.  When  properly 
dried  off,  they  should  be  put  on  good  feed  to  recruit,  and  get  in  condition* 
for  winter.  

FALL  FEEDING. — In  the  North,  the  grass  often  gets  very  short  by  the 
10th  or  15th  of  November,  and  it  has  lost  much  of  its  nutritiousness  from; 
repeated  freezing  and  thawing.  At  this  time,  though  no  snow  has  ye* 
fallen,  it  is  best  to  give  the  sheep  a  light  daily  foddering  of  bright  hay — 
or  a  few  oats  in  the  bundle.  Given  thus  for  the  ten  or  twelve  days  which, 
precede  the  covering  of  the  ground  by  snow,  fodder  pays  for  itself  as  well' 
as  at  any  other  time  during  the  year.  I  have  usually  fed  oats  in  the  bun- 
dle, or  threshed  oats,  (about  a  gill  to  the  head,)  in  the  feeding-troughs, 
carried  to  the  fields  for  that  purpose. 

THE  CROOK. — This  implement  has  been  several  times  alluded  to  as  a 
convenient  one  for  catching  sheep.  It  is  made  in  the  form  exhibited  iu 


196 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


\    the  cut,  of  -f-inch  round  iron,  drawn  smaller  toward  the  point — and  the 
point  made  safe  by  a  knob.     The   other  end  is  furnished 
with   a  socket,  which  receives   a  handle  six  or  eight  feet 
long.     The  manner  of  using  it  is  thus  described  in  Mr.  Ste- 
phens's  admirable  "Book  of  the  Farm": 

"  The  hind-leg  is  hooked  in  at  a,  from  behind  the  sheep,  and  it  fills  up 
the  narrow  part  beyond  <z,  while  passing  along  it  until  it  reaches  the  loop, 
when  the  animal  is  caught  by  the  hock,  and  when  secured,  its  foot  ea- 
lily  slips  through  the  loop.  Some  caution  is  required  in  using  the  crook, 
'or  should  the  sheep  give  a  sudden  start  forward  to  get  away,  the  mo- 
ment it  feels  the  crook  the  leg  will  be  drawn  forcibly  through  the  narrow 
part,  and  strike  the  bone  with  such  violence  against  the  bend  of  the  loop 
<s  to  cause  the  animal  considerable  pain,  and  even  occasion  lameness  for 
*ome  days.  On  first  embracing  the  leg,  the  crook  should  be  drawn 
Tjuickly  toward  you,  so  as  to  bring  the  bend  of  the  loop  against  the  leg  as 
high  up  as  the  hock,  before  the  sheep  has  time  even  to  break  off,  and  be- 
ing secure,  its  struggles  will  cease  the  moment  your  hand  seizes  the  leg." 

No  flock-master  should  be  without  this  implement,  as  it 
eaves  a  vast  deal  of  yarding,  running,  &c.,  and  leads  to 
a  prompt  examination  of  every  improper  or  suspicious  ap- 
pearance, and  a  timely  application  of  remedy  or  preven- 
tive— which  would  often  be  deferred  if  the  whole  flock  had 
to  be  driven  to  a  distant  yard,  to  enable  the  shepherd  to 
catch  a  particular  sheep. 

Dexterity  in  the  use  of  the  crook  is  speedily  acquired  by  any  one ;  and 
if  a  flock  are  properly  tame,  any  one  of  its  number  can  be  readily  caught 
by  it,  at  salting-time — or,  generally,  at  other  times,  by  a  person  with  whom 
the  flock  are  familiar.  But  it  is  at  the  lambing-time,  when  sheep  and  lambs 
require  to  be  £O  repeatedly  caught,  that  the  crook  is  more  particularly  ser- 
viceable. For  this  purpose,  at  this  time  alone,  it  will  pay  for  itself  ten 
times  over  in  a  single  season,  in  saving  time,  to  say  nothing  of  the  advan 
tage  of  the  sheep. 


SHEPHKRD  S 
CROOK. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  197 


LETTER  XIII. 

WINTER  MANAGEMENT  OF  SHEEP. 

Use  of  Rams — proper  age,  number,  <fcc. — selecting  ewes  for — different  methods  of  coupling — way  to  treal 
rams... Division  of  Flocks  for  Winter.. .The  Hospital... Yards— when  necessary...  Feeding-Racks— vari- 
ous  plans  of— the  Box  Rack — the  Hole  Rack— the  Sparred  Rack — the  Hopper  Rack — their  i-espective  ad- 
vantages— improvements  suggested...  Troughs...  Grain-Boxes...  Barns  and  Sheds — necessity  of  shelter  at 

the  North the  common  Northern  Sheep-Barn..  .Stells — the  Outside  Stell — Ancient  Stells — Inside  Circular 

S tell— Circular  Stell  fitted  up  with  racks... Tree-Coverts... Cheap  Sheds— fitted  between  stacks,  barracks, 
&c..  .Value  of  Barracks  for  the  Preservation  of  Fodder..  .The  Main  Sheep-Barn  of  the  Farm  or  Plantation, 
with  Shearing-Floor,  &c. — arrangements  for  breeding-ewes... Feeding  sheep  in  yards  with  other  stock — 

improper reasons...  Hay-Holders... Winter  Dry  Feed  for  Sheep — Variations  in  Feed — German  views  on 

this  subject — proper  kinds  of  fodder — Boussingault's  Table  of  the  Nutritive  Equivalents  of  different  kinds 
of  Fodders. .  -Effect  of- Food  in  the  Production  of  Wool — De  Reaumur's  Table  showing  the  Effects  of  Food 
in  this  particular...  Effect  of  Food  in  producing  Fat  and  Muscle...  Fattening  Wethers  in  the  North...  Feed- 
ing Grain  to  Store-Sheep  in  Winter — when  practiced  at  the  North — economy  of  so  doing — kinds  of  grain 
preferred — necessity  of  regularity  in  quantity — difficulty  of  raising  the  condition  of  poor  sheep  in  the  win- 
ter.. .Feeding  Roots,  Browse,  &c  — Roots  a  Substitute  for  Grain — to  what  sheep  they  may  be  fed — Hetn- 
lock  Browse — when  and  in  what  manner  useful — substitutes  for. ..Winter  Feed  of  Breeding-Ewes... Ne 
cessity  of  regularity  in  the  times  of  feeding  sheep...  Salt...  Water. 

Dear  Sir:  As  the  turning  out  of  the  rams  usually  takes  place,  here,  on 
the  first  day  of  winter,  I  will  describe  the  proper  accompanying  arrange- 
ments, as  the  first  step  in  winter  management. 

USE  OF  RAMS. — The  period  of  gestation  in  the  ewe  averages  five  months. 
Merino  rams  are  frequently  used  from  the  first  to  the  tenth  year,  and  even 
longer.  The  lambs  of  very  old  rams  are  not  supposed  to  be  as  vigorous 
as  those  of  youngish  or  middle-aged  ones,  but  where  rams  have  not  been 
overtasked,  and  have  been  properly  fed,  I  confess  I  have  been  able  to  dis- 
cover very  little  difference  in  their  progeny  on  account  of  age.  A  ram 
lamb  should  not  be  used,  as  it  retards  his  growth,  injures  his  form,  and,  I 
think,  permanently  impairs  his  vigor  and  courage.  A  yearling  may  run 
with  30  ewes,  a  two-year-old  with  from  40  to  50,  and  a  three-year-old 
with  from  50  to  60.  Some  very  powerful,  mature  rams  will  serve  70  or 
80  ewes  ;  but  50  is  enough,  where  they  run  with  the  ewes.  I  am  satisfied 
that  an  impoverished  and  overtasked  animal  does  not  transmit  his  indi- 
vidual properties  so  decidedly  to  his  offspring  as  one  in  full  vigor. 

Several  rams  running  in  the  same  flock  excite  each  other  to  an  unnat- 
ural and  unnecessary  activity,  besides  injuring  each  other  by  constant 
blows.  It  is,  in  every  point  of  view,  bad  husbandly,  where  it  can  be 
avoided,  and,  as  usually  managed,  is  destructive  to  everything  like  careful 
and  judicious  breeding.  The  nice  adaptation  which  the  male  should  pos- 
sess to  the  female,  already  discussed  under  the  head  of  Principles  of 
Breeding — counterbalancing  her  defects  with  his  own  marked  excellence 
in  the  same  points,  and,  in  turn,  having  his  defects  counterbalanced  by 
her  excellencies- — how  shall  this  be  accomplished,  where  half  a  dozen  or 
more  rams  are  running  promiscuously  with  two  or  three  hundred  ewes  ? 

Before  the  rams  are  let  out,  the  flock-master  should  have  all  the  breed- 
ing-ewes brought  together  in  one  yard.  He  has  carefully  inspected  his 
stock  rams  and  noted  every  defect  and  peculiarity  of  their  fleeces  and 
forms.  The  breeding  register  is  before  him  to  settle  every  pedigree,  pro- 
vided his  stock  rams  are  nearly  enough  connected  with  some  portions  of 
thb  flock  to  render  it  necessary  to  guard  against  in-and-in  breeding.  The 
shepherd  catches  a  ewe  and  places  her  before  him.  The  pedigree  being 


198  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

determined,  he  first  notes  her  form,  and  then  opening  the  wool  on  the 
'•shoulder,  thigh  and  belly,  notes  the  length,  thickness,  quality,  and  style  of 
the  staple.  If  he  kept,  the  minutes  at  shearing  recommended  by  me  (un- 
der the  head  of  "  Selection  ")  it  will  save  much  time  and  lead  to  far  more 
accurate  classification.  When  every  point  in  the  ewe  is  determined,  he 
decides  which  ram,  on  the  whole,  is  best  calculated  to  perpetuate  her  ex- 
cellencies both  of  fleece  and  carcass,  and  best  counterbalance  her  defects 
in  their  mutual  offspring.  With  a  pigment  composed  of  Venitian  red  and 
nog's  lard,  he  then,  as  has  been  already  mentioned  under  the  head  of 
Registering,  gives  the  ewe  a  mark  which  will  last  until  the  next  shearing, 
which  will  show  by  what  ram  she  was  tupped.  Those  selected  for  each 
ram  are  placed  in  different  inclosures,  and  the  chosen  ram  placed  with 
them.  In  four  weeks'  time,  the  rams  are  withdrawn,  and  the  flocks 
doubled  or  otherwise  rearranged  for  winter,  as  may  be  necessary.  This 
looks  like  taking  considerable  trouble,  but  having  practiced  it  for  years 
on  my  farm,  arid  having  always  made  these  selections  myself,  I  know 
that  in  reality  the  treuble  is  very  slight — nothing,  when  the  beneficial  le- 
sults  are  taken  into  consideration.  With  a  couple  assistants,  to  catch,  a 
day  would  suffice  for  effecting  the  proper  classification  and  division  of  sev- 
eral hundred  ewes. 

Where  choice  rams  are  scarce,  so  that  it  is  an  object  to  make  the  ser- 
vices of  one  go  a  great  way — or  where  it  is  impossible  to  have  separate 
inclosures,  (as  on  farms  where  there  there  are  a 

great  number  of  breeding-ewes,  or  where  the  shep-      Fig-  30. 

herd  system  is  adopted  to  the  exclusion  of  fences,) 
the  following  method  may  be  resorted  to.  Build  a 
hut  containing  as  many  apartments  as  you  wish  to 
use  rams,  with  an  alley  between  them.  That  part 
of  fig.  30  which  is  surrounded  by*  black  lines  repre- 
sents the  hut  divided  into  four  apartments,  each  fur- 
nished with  a  feeding-box  and  trough  in  one  corner. 
Gates  or  bars  open  from  each  apartment  into  the 
alley,  and  at  cadi  end  of  the  alley.  The  dotted 
lines  inclose  a  yard  just  sufficient  to  hold  the  flock 
of  breeding-ewes. 

A  couple  of  strong  rams  (of  any  quality)  for  about 
every  hundred  ewes,  are  then  aproned,  their  brisk- 
ets rubbed  with  Venitian  red  and  hog's  lard,  and  they  are  let  loose  among 
the  ewes.  Aproning  is  performed  by  sewing  a  belt  of  coarse  sacking 
broad  enough  to  extend  from  the  fore  to  the  hind  legs,  loosely  but  strongly 
round  the  body.  To  prevent  its  slipping  forward  or  back,  straps  are  car- 
rie4  round  the  breast  and  back  of  the  breech.  It  is  indispensable  that  it 
be  made  perfectly  secure,  or  all  the  labor  of  this  method  of  coupling  will 
be  far  worse  than  thrown  away.  The  pigment  on  the  brisket  should  be 
renewed  every  two  or  three  days — and  it  will  be  necessary,  usually,  to 
change  the  "  teasers,"  as  these  aproned  rams  are  called,  about  once  a 
week,  as  they  do  not  long  retain  their  courage  under  such  unnatural  cir- 
cumstances. Twice  a  day  the  ewes  are  brought  into  the  yard  in  front  of 
the  hut.  Those  marked  on  their  rumps  by  the  teasers  are  taken  into  the 
alley.  Each  is  admitted  to  the  ram  for  which  she  is  marked  once,  and 
then  goes  out  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  alley  from  whicJi  she  entered,  into  a 
separate  field  from  that  containing  the  flock  from  which  she  was  taken. 
A  powerful  and  vigorous  ram  from  three  to  seven  years  old,  and  properly 
fed,  can  thus  be  made  to  serve  from  150  to  even  200  ewes,  with  no  greatei 
injury  than  from  running  loose  with  50  or  60. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  199 


This,  too,  looks  like  a  great  amount  of  labor  to  attain  the  result  sought, 
but  having  had  it  formerly  practiced  for  two  years  on  my  farm,  I  know 
that  when  conducted  with  system,  and  by  a  prompt  and  handy  shepherd, 
it  consumes  no  great  amount  of  time. 

Rams  will  do  better,  accomplish  more,  and  last  two  or  three  years  long- 
er, if  daily  fed  with  grain,  when  on  service,  and  it  is  well  to  continue  it,' 
gradually  decreasing  the  quantity,  for  a  few  days  after  they  are  withdrawn 
from  the  flock  of  ewes.  A  ram  should  receive  the  equivalent  of  from  half 
a  pint  to  a  pint  of  oats,  daily,  when  worked  hard.  They  are  much  more 
conveniently  fed  when  kept  in  huts.  If  suffered  to  run  at  large,  they 
should  be  so  thoroughly  tamed  that  they  will  eat  from  a  measure  held  by 
the  shepherd.  Careful  breeders  thus  train  their  stock-rams  from  the  time 
they  are  lambs.  It  is  very  convenient,  also,  to  have  them  halter-broke,  so 
that  they  can  be  led  about  without  dragging  or  lifting  them.  An  iron  ring 
attached  to  one  of  the  horns,  near  the  point,  to  which  a  cord  can  be  at- 
tached for  leading,  confining,  &c.,  is  very  useful  and  handy.  If  rams  are 
wild,  it  is  a  matter  of  considerable  difficulty  to  feed  them  separately,  and 
it  can  only  be  effected  by  yarding  the  flock  and  catching  them  out.  Some 
breeders,  in  addition  to  extra  feeding,  take  the  rams  out  of  the  flocks 
nights,  shutting  them  up  in  a  barn  or  stable  by  themselves.  There  is  no 
objection  to  this  practice,  and  it  is  a  great  saving  of  their  strength. 

Rams  should  not  be  suffered  to  run  with  the  ewes  over  a  month,  at 
least  in  the  North.  It  is  much  better  that  a  ewe  go  dry  than  that  she 
have  a  lamb  later  than  the  first  of  June.  And  after  the  rutting  season  is 
aver,  the  rams  grow  cross,  frequently  striking  the  pregnant  ewes  danger- 
ous blows  with  their  heavy  horns,  at  the  racks  and  troughs. 

DIVISION  OF  FLOCKS. — If  flocks  are  shut  up  in  small  inclosures  during 
winter,  according  to  the  Northern  custom,  it  is  necessary  to  divide  them 
into  flocks  of  about  100  each,  to  consist  of  sheep  of  about  the  same  size 
and  strength.  Otherwise  the  stronger  rob  the  weaker,  and  the  latter  rap- 
idly decline.  This  would  not  be  so  important  where  the  sheep  roam  at 
large,  but  even  in  that  case  some  division  and  classification  are  necessary, 
— or,  at  all  events  lest.  It  is  best,  indeed,  as  already  stated,  even  in  sum- 
mer. The  poorer  and  feebler  can  by  this  means  receive  better  pasture,  or 
a  little  more  grain  and  better  shelter  in  winter. 

By  those  who  grow  wool  to  any  extent,  breeding  ewes,  lambs,  and  weth- 
ers are  invariably  kept  in  separate  flocks  in  winter ;  and  it  is  best  to  keep 
yearling  sheep  by  themselves  with  a  few  of  the  smallest  two-year-olds,  and 
any  old  crones  which  are  kept  for  their  excellence  as  breeders,  but  which 
cannot  maintain  themselves  in  the  flock  of  breeding-ewes. 

THE  HOSPITAL. — Old  and  feeble,  or  wounded  shiep,  late-born  lambs,  etc., 
should  be  placed  by  themselves,  if  the  number  doee  not  even  exceed  a  score. 
They  require  better  feed,  warmer  shelter,  and  more  attention.  But  after 
all,  unless  the  sheep  are  of  a  peculiarly  valuable  variety,  it  is  better  to  sell 
them  off  in  the  fall  at  any  price, — or  to  give  them  to  some  poor  neighbor 
who  has  time  to  nurse  them,  and  who  may  thus  commence  a  flock. 

YARDS. — Experience  has  amply  demonstrated,  that  in  the  climate  of  the 
Northern  and  Eastern  States — where  no  grass  grows  from  four  to  four  and 
a  half  months  in  the  winter — and  where,  therefore,  all  that  can  be  obtain- 
ed from  the  ground  is  the  repeatedly  frozen,  innutritions  herbage,  left  in 
the  fall — it  is  better  to  keep  sheep  confined  in  yards,  excepting  where  tho 
ground  is  covered  with  snow.  If  suffered  to  roam  over  the  fields  at  other 


200 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


times,  they  get  enough  grass  to  take  away  their  appetite  for  dry  hay,  but 
not  enough  to  sustain  them ;  they  fall  away,  and  towards  spring  they  be- 
come weak,  and  a  large  proportion  of  them  frequently  perish.  I  speak, 
of  course,  of  flocks  of  some  size,  and  on  properly  stocked  farms.  A  few 
sheep,  with  a  boundless  range,  would  do  better. 

Some  of  our  flock-masters  let  out  their  sheep  occasionally  for  a  single 
day,  during  a  thaw ;  others  keep  them  entirely  from  the  ground  until  let 
out  to  grass  in  the  spring.  I  prefer  the  former  course,  where  the  sheej. 
ordinarily  get  nothing  but  dry  fodder.  It  affords  a  healthy  laxative,  and 
a  single  day's  grazing  will  not  take  off  their  appetite  from  more  than  one 
Bucceeding  dry  feed.  It  is  necessary,  here,  to  keep  the  sheep  in  the  yards 
until  the  feed  has  got  a  good  start  in  the  spring,  or  they,  particularly 
breeding-ewes,  will  get  off  from  their  feed,  and  get  weak  at  the  most  crit- 
ical time  for  them  in  the  year. 

Yards  should  be  firm -bottomed,  dry, — and  they  should,  (in  this  climate,) 
be  kept  well  littered  with  straw. 

My  impression  is  that  the  yarding  system  will  never  be  practiced  to  any 
extent  in  the  South.  It  certainly  should  not  be,  where  sheep  can  get  their 
living  from  the  fields.  How  far,  and  under  what  circumstances,  they  will 
do  this,  has  already  been  sufficiently  discussed  in  my  preceding  Letters. 

FEEDING-RACKS. — When  the  ground  is  frozen,  and  especially  when 
covered  with  snow,  the  sheep  eats  hay  better  on  the  ground  than  anywhere 
6lse.  When  the  land  is  soft,  muddy,  or  foul  with  manure,  they  will  scarce- 
ly touch  hay  placed  on  it.  It  should  then  be  fed  in  racks. 

These  are  of  various  forms.- 
Figure  31  gives  the  common  box 
rack,  in  the  most  general  use  in 
the  North.  It  is  ten  feet  long, 
two  and  a  half  wide,  the  lower 
boards  a  foot  wide,  the  upper 
ones  about  ten  inches,  the  two 
about  nine  inches  apart,  and  the 
corner  posts  three  by  three,  or 

three  and  a  half  by  two  and  a  half  inches.  The  boards  are  spiked  on  these 
posts  by  large  flat  headed  nails  wrought  for  the  purpose,  and  the  lower 
edges  of  the  upper  boards  and  the  upper  edges  of  the  lower  ones  are 
rounded  so  they  shall  not  wear  the  wool  off  from  the  sheep's  necks.  The 
lower  boards  and  the  opening  for  the  heads,  should  be  two  or  three  inches 
narrower  for  lambs.  If  made  of  light  wood,  as  they  should  be,  a  man 
standing  in  the  inside  and  middle  of  one  of  these  racks,  can  easily  carry  it 
about — an  important  desideratum.  Unless  overfed,  sheep  waste  very  lit- 
tle hay  in  them. 

A  capital  shed  or  barn  rack  is  represented  in  the  following  cut.     The 


Fig.  31. 


Tig.  32. 


HOLE  RACK. 


iioles  are  eight  inches  wide,  nine  inches  high,  and  eighteen  inches  from 
center  to  center.     Sheep  do  not  crowd  and  take  advantage  of  each  other 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  201 

ac  much  with  these  as  with  box  racks.  But  they  would  be  too  heavy  and 
unnecessarily  expensive  for  a  common  out-door  rack.  Fig.  32  represents 
a  box,  the  front  formed  of  a  board  nailed  on  horizontally,  but  they  are 
usually  formed  by  nailing  the  boards  perpendicularly,  the  bottoms  on  the 
eill  of  a  barn,  and  the  tops  to  horizontal  pieces  of  timber. 

In  the  South,  as  in  England,  racks  will  not  be  so  necessary  for  that 
constant  use  to  which  they  are  put  in  colder  countries,  as  for  depositories 
of  dry  food,  for  the  occasional  visitation  of  the  sheep.  In  soft  warm 
weather,  when  the  ground  is  unfrozen,  and  any  kind  of  green  herbage  is 
to  be  obtained,  sheep  will  scarcely  touch  dry  fodder — though  the  little  tlicy 
will  then  eat  will  be  highly  serviceable  to  them.  But  in  a  sudden  freeze,  or 
on  the  occurrence  of  cold  storms,  they  will  resort  to  the  racks,  and  fill 
themselves  with  dry  food.  By  an  instinct  beautifully  illustrative  of  the 
providence  of  the  Creator,  sheep  anticipate  the  coming  storm,  and  eat  an 
extra  quantity  of  food  to  sustain  the  animal  heat,  during  the  succeeding 
depression  of  temperature.  They  should  always  have  racks  of  dry  fod- 
der to  resort  to  in  such  emergencies. 

These  occasionally  used  racks  should  have  covers  or  roofs  to  protect 
their  contents  from  rain,  as  otherwise  the  feed  would  be  often  spoiled  be- 
fore but  a  small  portion  of  it  was  consumed.  Hay  or  straw  saturated  with 
water,  or  soaked  and  dried,  is  only  eaten  by  the  sheep  as  a  matter  of  ab- 
solute necessity.  The  common  box  rack  (fig.  31)  would  answer  the  pur- 
pose very  well  by  placing  on  the  top  a  triangular  cover  or  roof  formed  of 
a  couple  of  boards,  (one  hung  at  the  upper  edge  with  iron  or  leather  hin- 
ges so  that  it  could  be  lifted  up  like  a  lid  ;)  making  the  ends  tight ;  draw- 
ing in  the  lower  edges  of  the  sides  so  that  it  shall  not  be  more  than  a  foot 
wide  on  the  bottom  ;  inserting  a  floor ;  and  then  mounting  it  on  and  mak- 
ing it  fast  to  two  cross  sills  four  or  five  inches  square  to  keep  the  floor  off 
from  the  ground,  and  long  enough  to  prevent  it  from  being  easily  overturn- 
ed. The  lower  side  board  should  be  narrower  than  in  fig.  31,  on  account 
of  the  increased  hight  given  its  upper  edge  by  the  sills. 

Still  better,  but  somewhat  more  expensive,  would  be  a  rack  of  the  same 
construction,  with  the  sides  like  those  of  fig.  32. 

Or,  the  sides  might  consist  of  rundles  as  in  fig.  33.  In  either  of  the 
preceding,  the  top  might  be  nailed  down,  and  the  fodder  inserted  by  little 
d:>ors  in  the  ends. 

The  following  form  and  description  of  an  English  rack  is  from  the 
"  Book  of  the  Farm."* 


Fig.  33. 


SPARRED  RACK. 


"  I  have  found,"  says  Mr.  Stephens,  "  this  form  convenient,  containing  as  much  straw  a* 
time  as  should  be  given,  admitting  the  straw  easily  into  it,  being  easily  moved  abo*-*.  ^ 

*  It  will  be  found  iu  the  reprint  of  this  splendid  work,  in  The  Farmers'  Library,  vol.  ii.,  p.  449 

2  G 


202  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


easy  access  to  the  sheep,  and  being  so  near  the  ground  as  to  form  an  excellent  shelter.  It 
is  made  of  wood,  is  9  feet  in  length,  4^  feet  in  hight,  and  3  feet  in  width,  having  a  sparred 
rack  with  a  double  face  below,  which  is  covered  with  an  angled  roof  of  boards  to  throw  off 
the  rain.  The  rack  is  supported  on  two  triangular-shaped  tressels  b,  shod  with  iron  at  the 
points,  which  are  pushed  into  the  ground,  and  act  as  stays  against  the  effects  of  the  wind 
from  either  side.  The  billet  c,  fixed  on  the  under  or  acute  edge  of  the  rack,  rests  upon  the 
ground,  and  in  common  with  the  feet,  supports  it  from  bending  down  in  the  middle.  The 

lid  a  is  opened  on  hinges  when  the  fodder  is  put  into  the  rack Such  a  rack  is  easily 

moved  about  by  two  persons,  and  their  position  should  be  changed  according  to  a  change 
of  wind  indicative  of  a  storm.' 

I  used  racks  formed  of  rounds  (or  "  sparred ")  for  several  years,  and 
found  them  decidedly  objectionable.  The  sheep  grasping  a  lock  of  hay  in 
its  mouth,  brings  the  head  to  its  natural  position,  and  then  draws  in  the 
adhering  fibres  in  the  process  of  mastication.  But  when  eating  from  a 
rack,  it  will  not  pick  up  the  liay  which  it  drops  under  foot.  In  the  box  or 
hole  racks  (figs.  31  and  32)  most  sheep  will  not  withdraw  their  heads 
from  the  openings,  as  they  can  there  hold  them  in  the  ordinary  position 
for  mastication,  and  as,  if  they  step  back  to  do  so,  they  are  very  liable  to 
be  crowded  out  of  their  places.  The  hay,  therefore,  is  not  drawn  out  of 
the  rack,  and  if  any  is  dropped,  it  falls  within  it  and  is  saved.  At  a  sparred 
rack,  the  sheep  will  not  keep  its  nose  between  the  randies  (in  a  horizon- 
tal or  upward  position)  until  it  detaches  a  mere  mouthfull  of  hay.  It  will, 
particularly  when  partly  sated,  twitch  out  its  fodder  prior  to  mastication, 
and  all  which  scatters  off  and  drops  to  the  ground,  is  trampled  under  foot 
and  wasted,  except  for  the  mere  purpose  of  manure.  A  considerable  loss 
will  always  result  from  this  cause. 

And  there  is  another  objection  to  this  form  of  rack,  particularly  where 
it  runs  down  to  an  acute  edge  on  the  bottom,  as  in  fig.  33.  The  sheep 
frequently  drawing  the  hay  from  the  lower  part,  will  shake  down  from 
above  hay-seeds  and  chaff  into  the  wool  on  their  head  and  necks  ;  and  the 
wind  will  sometimes  carry  these  as  far  as  their  shoulders  and  even  their 
backs.  As  heretofore  remarked,  these  cannot  be  washed  out,  and  they 
materially  lower  the  market  value  of  the  wool. 

The  following  rack  has  been  used  and  is  highly  approved  by  my  friend 
George  Geddes,  Esq.,  of  Fairmount,  N.  Y.,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for 
the  drawing  and  description  of  the  cut.  It  serves  both  for  a  rack  anc 
feeding-trough. 

Fig.  34. 


THE  HOPPER-RACK. 

The  above  is  intended  to  represent  a  section  of  what  I  think  the  best  sheep-rack 

1 A  piece  of  durable  wood  about  4£  feet  long,  6  or  8  inches  deep,  and  4  inches  thick 
two  notches,  a,  a,  cut  into  it,  and  two  troughs,  made  of  inch  boards,  b,  b,  b,  b,  placed  ii 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


203 


these  notches,  and  nailed  fast,  constitutes  the  foundation.  If  the  rack  it  to  be  14  feet  Ions:, 
three  sills  will  be  required.  The  ends  of  the  rack  are  made  by  nailing  against  the  side  of 
the  sill-boards  that  reach  up  as  high  as  it  is  desired  to  have  the  rack,  and  nails  driven 
through  these  end-boards  into  the  ends  of  the  side-boards/,/,  secure  them.  The  sides 
may  he  farther  strengthened  by  pieces  of  board  on  the  outside  of  them,  and  fitted  into  the 
trough.  A  roof  may  be  put  over  all  if  desired.  With  n  roof,  the  fodder  is  kept  entirely 
from  the  weather,  and  no  seeds  or  chaff  can  get  into  the  wool." 

TROUGRS. — Threshed  grain,  chopped  roots,  &c.,  when  fed  to  sheep 
should  be  laid  in  troughs.  With  any  of  the  preceding  forms  of  racks,  ex 
jepting  fig.  34,  a  separate  trough  would  be  required.  For  a  number  of 
years  I  have  used  those  of  the  following  form,  and  have  found  them  every 
way  satisfactory. 

J  Fig.  35. 


SHKEP-TRODGH. 


One  of  the  side-boards  is  ui  aally  about  ten  and  the  other  eleven  inches 
wide.  The  feet  are  commonly  of  two-inch  plank,  rising  high  enough  on 
the  sides  to  keep  the  sides  of  the  trough  firm  in  their  places. 

In  our  snowy  climate  they  are  turned  over  after  feeding,  and  when  falls 
of  snow  are  anticipated,  one  end  is  laid  on  the  yard  fence.* 

The  following  elaborately  ingenious  contrivance  for  keeping  grain  where 
sheep  can  feed  on  it  at  will,  is  from  the  "  Book  of  the  Farm,"  and  I  ap- 
pend the  author's  description  of  it.t 


Fig.  36. 


Fig.  37. 


VERTICAL  SECTION  OF  INTERIOR 
OF  GRAIN  BOX. 


GRAIN  BOX  FOR  SHEEP. 


"  There  is  a  mode  of  preserving  corn  (grain)  for  sheep  on  turnips  which  has  been  tried 
with  success  in  Fife.  It  consists  of  a  box  like  a  hay-rack,  in  which  the  grain  is  at  all 
times  kept  closely  shut  up,  except  when  sheep  wish  to  eat  it,  and  then  they  get  it  by 
a  simple  contrivance.  The  box  a  b  contains  the  grain,  into  which  it  is  poured  through  the 
small  hinged  lid  y.  The  cover  c  d  concealing  the  grain,  is  also  hinged,  and  when  elevated  the 
eheep  have  access  to  the  grain.  Its  elevation  is  effected  by  the  pressure  of  the  sheep's  fore- 
feet upon  the  platform  e  f,  which,  moving  as  a  lever,  acts  upon  the  lower  ends  of  the  up- 
right rods  g  and  k,  raises  them  up,  and  elevates  the  cover  c  d,  under  which  their  heads 
then  find  admittance  into  the  box.  A  similar  apparatus  gives  them  access  to  the  other  side 
of  the  box.  The  whole  machine  can  be  moved  about  to  convenient  places  by  means  of 

*  To  you,  Sir,  living  on  the  ocean  shore  of  South  Carolina,  and  who,  I  think,  have  not  visited  the  North, 
in  the  depth  of  winter,  the  idea  of  a  farmer's  finding  the  racks  used  by  him  the  day  before,  buried  under 
from  eighteen  inches  to  three  feet  of  snow,  and  having  to  dig  them  out,  may  be  rather  an  odd  one  J  But, 
nevertheless,  it  ia  a  matter  of  no  very  rare  occurrence,  at  least  at  the  lowest  depth  mentioned 

i  See  Farmers'  Library,  voL  it.,  No.  10,  p.  476. 


204  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

four  wheels.  The  construction  of  the  interior  of  the  box  being  somewhat  peculiar,  another 
fig.  37,  is  given  as  a  vortical  section  of  it,  where  b  is  the  hinged  lid  by  which  the  graip. 
is  put  into  the  box,  whence  it  is  at  once  received  into  the  hopper  d,  the  bottom  of  which 
being  open,  and  brought  near  that  of  the  box,  a  small  space  only  is  left  for  the  grain  tc 
pass  into  the  box,  the  hopper  forming  the  grain-store ,  a  is  the  cover  of  the  box  raised 
on  its  hinges  by  the  rod  /,  acted  upon  by  the  platform  ef,  fig.  35 ;  and,  when  in  this  po- 
sition, the  sheep  put  their  heads  below  a  at  c,  and  eat  the  grain  at  d.  Machines  of  simi- 
lar construction  to  this  have  also  been  devised  to  serve  poultry  with  grain  at  will." 

I  never  have  thought  it  best  in  feeding  or  fattening  any  animals,  or,  at 
all  events,  any  quadrupeds,  to  allow  them  grain  at  will — preferring  stated 
feeds  ;  and  the  same  remark  is  applicable  to  fodder.  If  this  system  is  de- 
parted from  in  using  depository  racks,  as  heretofore  recommended,  it  is 
because  it  is  rendered  necessary  by  the  circumstances  of  the  case.  A  Me- 
rino store-sheep,  allowed  grain  ad  libitum,  would  stand  a  chance  to  inflict 
an  injury  on  itself,  and  I  cannot  but  believe  that  grain  so  fed  would  gen- 
erally be  productive  of  more  injury  than  benefit. 

BARNS  AND  SHEDS,  &c. — Sheep  barns  and  sheds,  at  the  North,  .are  fre- 
quently made  very  elaborate  contrivances — particularly  on  paper.  But 
expensive  barns,  with  feeding-cellars  and  other  arrangements  for  keeping 
sheep  within  doors  during  a  greater  portion  of  the  winter,  would,  it  strikes 
me,  be  entirely  out  of  place  in  the  South.  Even  in  our  rigorous  climate 
none  but  the  breeders  of  Saxons  pretend  to  make  a  regular  practice  or 
feeding  under  cover. 

Humanity  and  economy  both  dictate,  here,  that  sheep  be  provided  with 
shelters  to  lie  under  nights,  and  to  which  they  can  resort  at  will.  In  our 
severe  winter  storms,  it  is  sometimes  necessary,  or  at  least  by  far  the  best, 
to  feed  under  shelter  for  a  day  or  two.  It  is  not  an  uncommon  circum- 
stance in  New- York  and  New-England,  for  snow  to  fall  to  the  depth  of 
20  or  30  inches  within  24  or  48  hours,  and  then  to  be  succeeded  by  a 
strong  and  intensely  cold  west  or  north-west  wind  of  two  or  three  days' 
continuance,*  which  lifts  the  snow,  blocking  up  the  roads,  and  piling  huge 
drifts  to  the  leeward  of  fences,  barns,  &c.  A  flock  without  shelter  will 
huddle  closely  together,  turning  their  backs  to  the  storm,  constantly  step- 
ping and  thus  treading  down  the  snow  as  it  rises  about  them.  Strong,  close- 
coated  sheep  do  not  seem  to  suffer  as  much  from  the  cold,  for  a  period,  as 
would  be  expected.  But  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  feed  them  enough  or 
half  enough,  under  such  circumstances,  without  an  immense  waste  of  hay 
— entirely  impossible,  without  racks.  The  hay  is  whirled  away  in  an  in- 
stant by  the  wind,  and  even  if  racks  are  used,  the  sheep  leaving  their  hud- 
dle where  they  were  kept  warm  and  even  moist  by  the  melting  of  the  snow 
in  their  wool,  soon  get  chilled  and  are  disposed  to  return  to  their  huddle. 
Imperfectly  filled  with  food,  the  supply  of  animal  heat  is  lowered,  and  at 
the  end  of  the  second  or  third  day,  the  feeble  ones  have  sunk  down  hope 
lessly,  the  yearlings  and  oldish  ones  have  received  a  shock  which  nothing 
but  careful  nursing  will  recover  them  from,  and  even  the  strongest  have 
Buffered  an  injurious  loss  in  condition. 

Few  holders  of  more  than  40  or  50  sheep  now  attempt  to  get  along 
here  without  some  kind  of  shelters.  The  following  (fig.  38)  is  a  very 
common  form  of  a  Northern  sheep-barn  with  sheds.  The  sheds  front  the 
south,  or,  what  is  a  better  arrangement,  one  fronts  the  east,  and  the  other, 
being  turned  to  a  right  angle  to  the  direction  of  this,  fronts  the  south.  1 
have  represented  hole  racks,  as  in  fig.  32,  running  round  the  sheds,  as, 
although  not  yet  in  general  use,  they  are  undoubtedly  the  best  in  such  sit* 

*  Thoae  terriblj  wind-storms  are  of  much  longer  continuance  in  many  parts  of  New-England. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


20,5 


nations.  The  sheds  are  not  usually  framed  or  silled, — but  are  supported 
by  posts  of  some  durable  timber  set  in  the  ground.  The  roofs  are  formed 
of  boards  "battened  "  with  slabs.  The  barn  has  no  partitions  within,  and 
is  entirely  filled  with  hay. 

Fig.  38. 


SHEEP-BARN. 

There  are  many  situations  where  these  open  sheds  are  very  liable  to  ha\e 
snow  drifted  under  them  by  certain  winds,  and  they  are  subject  in  all  cases 
in  severe  gales,  to  have  the  snow  carried  over  them  to  fall  down  in  large 
drifts  in  front,  which  gradually  encroach  on  the  sheltered  space,  and  are 
very  inconvenient — particularly  when  they  thaw.  I  therefore  much  prefer 
sheep-houses  covered  on  all  sides,  with  the  exception  of  a  wide  door-way 
for  ingress  and  egress,  and  one  or  two  windows  for  ventilation  when  it  is 
necessary.  They  are  convenient  for  yarding  sheep,  for  the  various  process- 
es where  this  is  required,  as  for  shearing,  marking,  sorting,  "doctoring," 

Fig.  39. 


THE  OUTSIDE  STELL. 


&c.,  and  especially  so,  for  lambing  places  or  the  confinement  of  newly 
shorn  sheep  in  cold  storms.     They  should  be  spacious  enough,  so  that  in 


205 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


addition  to  the  outside  racks,  others  can  be  placed  temporarily  through 
the  middle  when  required. 

In  many  parts  of  Scotland,   "  Stells,"   as  they  are  called,  are  made  use 
of  to  shelter  sheep.     Ficr.  39  on  the  preceding  page  is  the  form  of  one  given 

md  the  author's  descrii 


in  "  The  Book  of  the  Farm,"  and 


lescription  of  it : 


"  In  a  storm,  their  provender  cannot  be  given  to  the  sheep  upon  snow,  safely  and  conven- 
iently, as  ground-drift  may  blow  and  cover  both ;  and  no  place  is  so  suitable  for  the  purpose 
ss  a  ste.ll It  may  be  formed  of  planting  or  high  stone-wall.  Either  will  afford  shel- 
ter ;  but  the  former  most,  though  most  costly,  as  it  should  be  fenced  by  a  stone-wall.  Of 
this  class  I  conceive  the  form  represented  (fig.  38)  a  good  one,  and  which  may  be  char- 
acterized as  an  outside  stell The  circumscribing  strong  black  line  is  a  stone-wall  six 

feet  high ;  the  dark  ground  within  is  covered  with  trees.  Its  four  rounded  projections  shel- 
ter a  corresponding  number  of  recesses  embraced  between  them,  so  that  let  the  wind  blow 
from  what  quarter  it  may,  two  of  the  recesses  will  be  always  sheltered  from  the  storm.  The 
eize  of  this  stell  is  regulated  by  the  number  of  sheep  kept ;  but  this  rule  may  be  remem- 
bered in  regard  to  its  accommodation  for  stock,  that  each  recess  occupies  about  J  part  of  the 
space  comprehended  between  the  extremities  of  the  4  projections  ;  so  that  in  a  stell  covering 
4  acres — which  is  perhaps  the  least  size  they  should  be,  every  recess  will  contain  £  an  acre." 

The  two  following  are  forms  of  stells,  composed  of  stone-wall,  without 
planting, 

Fig.  40. 


ANCIENT  STELLS. 


Figures  42  and  43,  on  the  following  page,  are  forms  of  circular  stells, 
the  first  made  by  stone-walls  and  planting,  as  in  fig.  39.  The  open  space 
a  is  occupied  by  the  sheep,  and  b  is  a  funnel-shaped  opening  to  it. 

On  the  whole  I  should  consider  fig.  42  preferable  to  any  of  the  preceding 
forms.  Figure  43  represents  one  of  the  same  form,  but  without  the 
planting,  with  a  stack  in  the  middle,  &c.  Either  of  the  stells  which  are 
formed  in  part  of  trees,  would  be  convenient  in  severe  winds,  would  form 
excellent  shades  in  summer,  and  would  constitute  highly  ornamental  ob- 
jects on  the  farm,  and  in  the  landscape.  On  the  most  northerly  of  the 
Southern  mountains,  where  considerable  snow  falls,  they  might  even  be 
good  contrivances  for  winter  shelter.  They  might  also  be  convenient  on 
the  lowlands  farther  south,  provided  the  shelter  of  evergreens  could  be 
made  dense  enough  to  protect  the  sheep  from  the  winter  rains.  In  this 
case,  the  stell  or  covert  might  be  of  any  shape,  and  ought  to  have  no  cen 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


207 


tral  opening.  It  would  be  merely  a  dense  clump  of  evergreen  trees,  foi 
the  sheep  to  take  refuge  under  in  storms  of  rain,  and  it  might  be  surround- 
ed on  the  outside  with  a  tight  board  fence  or  stone-wall,  if  much  exposed 


Fia.  42. 


THE  INSIDE  CIRCULAR  STELL. 


to  the  sweep  of  cold  winds.  As  the  sheep  would  lie  among  the  trees,  a 
clump  50  or  60  feet  in  diameter — though  100  feet  would  be  better — would 
suffice  for  100  sheep. 

Fig.  43. 


THE  CIRCULAR  STELL  FITTED  UP  WITH  HAT-RACKS. 

But  in  determining  upon  the  best  winter  shelters,  for  the  various  re 
gions  in  the  South,  the  fact  must  not  be  lost  sight  of  that  cold  rains,  01 
rains  of  any  temperature,  wlien  immediately  succeeded  by  cold  or  freezing 
weather,  or  cold,  piercing  winds,  are  more  hurtful  to  sheep  than  even  snow- 
storms— and  that  consequently  sheep  must  be  adequately  guarded  against 
them.  There  must  also  be  suitable  shelter  from  any  storms  to  which  the 
country  is  subject,  in  the  lambing  season.  Any  person  with  the  least  ex- 
perience can  determine  whether  an  inclosed  clump  of  trees  will  answer 
ihese  purposes,  in  his  own  immediate  region. 

I  think  it  very  probable  that  in  the  Gulf  States,  and  some  of  the  lower 
Atlantic  ones — particularly  in  regions  near  the  ocean — these  tree  coverts, 


233  SHEEP  HUSHANDIlf  IN  THE   SOUTH 


surrounded  by  fences  to  break  the  winds,  would  be  found  sufficient.  In 
sections  infested  with  wolves,  they  might  also  be  made  to  answer  for  folds, 
by  carrying  the  fence  to  the  requisite  hight,  to  bar  the  ingress  of  the  wolf. 
But  farther  north,  and  on  the  high  lands  and  mountains,  better  shelters 
would,  I  am  inclined  to  think,  in  the  end,  be  found  more  economical. 

The  simplest  and  cheapest  kind  of  shed  is  represented  in  the  following 
cut  (fig.  44).  It  is  formed  by  poles  or  rails,  the  upper  ends  resting  on  a 
strong  horizontal  pole  supported  by  crotched  posts  set  in  the  ground.  It 
may  be  rendered  rain-proof  by  pea-haulm,  straw,  or  pine  boughs. 


Fig.  44. 


SHED  OF  RAILS. 


In  a  region  where  lumber  is  very  cheap,  planks  or  boards  (of  sufficient 
thickness  not  to  spring  downward  and  thus  open  the  roof)  battened  with 
slabs,  may  take  the  place  of  the  poles  and  boughs ;  and  they  would  make 
a  tighter  and  more  durable  roof.  If  the  lower  ends  of  the  boards  or  poles 
are  raised  a  couple  of  feet  from  the  ground,  by  placing  a  log  under  them, 
the  shed  will  shelter  more  sheep. 

These  movable  sheds  may  be  connected  with  hay-barns,  "  hay-barracks," 
stacks,  or  they  may  surround  an  inclosed  space  with  a  stack  in  the  middle 
like  fig.  43.  In  the  latter  case,  however,  the  yard  should  be  square,  in- 
stead of  round,  on  account  of  the  divergence  in  the  lower  ends  of  the 
boards  or  poles,  which  the  round  form  would  render  necessaiy. 

Sheds  of  this  description  are  frequently  made,  in  the  North,  between 
two  stacks.  The  end  of  the  horizontal  supporting  pole  is  placed  on  the 
stack-pens,  when  the  stacks  are  built,  a'nd  the  middle  is  propped  by 
crotched  posts.  The  supporting-pole  may  rest,  in  the  same  way,  on  the 
upper  girts  of  two  hay-barracks  ;  or  two  such  sheds  (at  angles  with  each 
other)  might  form  wings  to  this  structure.  The  "  barrack,"  as  it  is  pro 
vincially  termed  in  the  North,  would,  it  strikes  me,  afford  a  most  econom- 
ical and  a  most  convenient  way  of  storing  fodder  in  the  South.  It  is  ea- 
sily movable,  so  that  it  possesses  the  same  advantage  that  stacks  do,  in 
manuring  different  parts  of  the  field  or  farm.  On  the  other  hand,  the  fod- 
der cannot  be  drenched  by  a  winter  rain,  as  in  a  partly  fed  out  stack 
Hay  can  be  more  rapidly  stored  in  it  than  on  a  stack  at  any  time,  and  you 
can  pitch  into  it  to  the  last  moment,  when  threatened  with  rain,  without 
stopping  to  round  up  the  top  as  is  necessary  in  a  stack.  The  outside  i? 
not  weather-beaten  and  damaged,  as  is  the  case  with  the  sides,  and  fre 
quently  with  a  considerable  of  the  top  of  a  stack.  Fig.  45  (on  the  nex* 
page)  represents  the  form  of  a  barrack.  It  is  12  feet  square  on  the  bot- 
tom, and  the  frame  is  formed  by  girting  together  four  strong  poles,  16  feet 
long,  at  the  bottom,  and  6  feet  from  the  bottom.  Boards  6  feet  long  are 
nailed  perpendicularly  on  the  girts.  Two-inch  holes  are  bored  at  con- 
venient distances  through  the  corner  poles,  so  that  the  roof,  which  rests 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  .SOUTH. 


203 


It  seems  to  me  that  this   structure 


Fig.  45. 


on  pins  thrust  through  these  holes,  can  be  raised  or  lowered,  at  pleasure.    It 

is  occasionally  lowered   as  the  fodder  gets  lower  in  the  barrack,  so  that 

rain  or  snow  shall  not  drive  under  it. 

would  be  remarkably  well  adapted 

to  the  storing  and  feeding  out  of  un- 

threshed  peas,  which,  as  has  been 

remarked  in  a  former  Letter,  are  so 

advantageously  raised  at  the  South, 

and  constitute  so  admirable  a  feed 

for  sheep. 

On  all  large  sheep-farms  con- 
venience requires  that  there  be  one 
barn  of  considerable  size,  to  con- 
tain the  shearing-floor,  and  the  ne- 
cessary conveniences  about  it  for 
yarding  the  sheep,  &c.  This  should 
also,  for  economy,  be  a  hay-barn, 
(where  hay  is  used,)  and  from  its 
necessary  size  (for  the  shearing- 
floor),  it  should  hold  hay  for  400  sheep. 


BARRACK. 


It  may  be  constructed  in  the 

corner  of  four  fields,  so  that  four  hundred  sheep  can  be  fed  from  it,  with- 
out making  improperly  sized  flocks.  At  this  barn  it  would  be  expedient 
to  make  the  best  shelters,  and  to  bring  together  all  the  breeding-ewes  on 
the  farm,  if  their  number  did  not  exceed  400.  Thus  the  shepherd  would 
be  saved  much  travel  at  all  times,  and  particularly  at  the  lambing-time, 
and  each  flock  would  be  under  his  almost  constant  supervision. 

I  offer  the  following  ground-plan  of  a  barn  with  fixtures,  &c.,  as  one 
which  I  think  will  be  found  well  adapted  to  the  purpose  above  specified. 
The  upper  is  the  north  part  of  the  plan. 

fig.  46. 


The  dotted  lines  a,  a,  a,  a,  are  the  fences  dividing  four  fields,  which  would 
corner  at  the  south-east  corner  of  the  barn.  The  barn  is  surrounded  by  double 
lines,  and  the  sheds  by  double  lines  on  the  backs  and  ends — the  dots  in 
front  of  them,  representing  the  crotched  posts  supporting  their  front-  The 
single  black  lines  round  the  yards,  represent  tight  board  fences,  which 
screen  the  four  yards  b,  c,  d,  e,  from  every  wind.  There  are  two  pumps  and 
troughs  at  k,  k,  which  accommodate  the  whole  four  fields,  if  a  want  of 
springs  or  streams  in  them  render  these  necessary.  The  sheds  are  so  ai> 

3D 


210  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

ranged  that  even  without  the  screens  they  entirely  shut  out  the  north  and 
west  winds — the  prevailing  and  severe  winter  ones  of  this  region—and  if 
other  ones  are  more  prevalent  in  other  regions,  the  sheds  can  be  changed 
accordingly.  Each  of  the  sheds  is  50  feet  long  and  12  feet  wide — six 
square  feet  being  the  smallest  proper  allowance  of  sheltered  area  for  eacr 
sheep.  The  barn  is  48  feet  square,  a  floor  13  feet  wide  running  east  ace 
west  through  the  center,  for  shearing  and  for  the  drawing  in  of  hay.  An 
alley  4  feet  wide  and  8  feet  high  (boaided  up  on  the  side  toward  the 
mow,  and  covered  at  the  top)  cuts  off  the  lower  part  of  each  bay  from  the 
east  wall  of  the  barn.  This  is  for  carrying  hay  into  the  yards  b,  c.  It  is 
carried  into  the  yards  d,  e,from  the  large  doors  at  each  end  of  the  shearing- 
floor  (or  from  smaller  ones  cut  through  them.)  The  south  bay  is  repre- 
sented as  divided  by  a  temporary  fence,  cutting  it  into  two  pensj^  g.  The 
outside  inclosure  c,  for  yarding  the  sheep,  communicating  by  a  door  with 
ft  and  g  being  used  as  a  room  to  tie  up  wool  in,  presents  precisely  the 
same  arrangement  which  is  exhibited  in  the  cut  of  the  shearing-barn 
(fig.  22)  in  Letter  XII. 

The  barn  here  given  (fig.  46)  is  probably  larger  than  would  be  neces- 
sary for  400  sheep,  in  most  parts  of  the  South.  Its  necessary  size  is  a 
question  to  be  entirely  determined  by  the  climate.  For  large  flocks  of 
sheep,  I  should  regard  the  storage  of  some  hay  or  other  fodder  for  winter 
as  an  indispensable  precautionary  measure,  at  least,  in  any  part  of  the 
United  States  ;  and,  other  things  being  equal,  the  farther  north,  or  the  more 
elevated  the  land,  the  greater  would  be  the  necessary  amount  to  be  stored. 

The  shearing-floor  shortened  to  30  or  35  feet,  would  still,  perhaps,  be 
sufficiently  commodious,  and  this  would  reduce  the  dimensions  of  the  barn 
east  and  west  13  or  18  feet ;  and  one  of  the  bays  might  be  dispensed  with. 
But  having  constructed  so  large,  so  smooth,  and  so  tight  a  barn-floor  as 
the  shearing  one  ought  to  be,  it  would  be  good  economy  to  use  it  for  the 
threshing  of  grain.  One  of  the  bays,  therefore,  might  be  used  for  the 
storage  of  grain  in  the  sheaf.  I  have  always  considered  this  an  excellent 
arrangement  in  a  Northern  barn  of  this  description,  as  in  our  cold  climate 
the  sheep  require  much  straw  litter  in  their  sheds,  yards,  &c.  Thrown 
out  to  them  daily,  as  threshed,  much  bright  straw  and  chaff  will  be  con- 
sumed by  them — particularly  of  greenish  cut  oats. 

The  yards  c,  e,  in  fig.  46  are  represented  but  the  width  of  the  barn,  48 
feet.  If  these  were  reduced  too  much,  by  diminishing  the  size  of  the  barn, 
the  shed  of  c  could  be  carried  farther  west  at^',  and  that  of  e  farther  north 
at  i,  being  connected  with  the  bam  by  wind-breakers,  composed  of  a  tight 
board  fence,  as  high  as  the  summit  of  the  sheds.  Or,  what  would  perhaps 
be  better,  the  fences  thrown  forward  in  a  straight  line  from  the  ends  of 
these  two  sheds  might  be  continued  until  they  intersected  each  other,  and 
a  fence  from  their  point  of  intersection  to  the  south-east  corner  of  the  barn 
would  divide  the  two  yards.  

FEEDING  SHEEP  WITH  OTHER  STOCK. — Sheep  should  not  run  or  be  fed, 
in  yards,  with  any  other  stock.  Cattle  hook  them,  often  mortally.  Colts 
tease  and  frequently  injure  them.  It  is  often  said  that  "  colts  will  pick  up 
what  sheep  leave."  Well-managed  sheep  rarely^  leave  anything — and  if 
they  chance  to,  it  is  better  to  rake  it  up  and  throw  it  into  the  colts'yard, 
chan  to  feed  them  together.  If  sheep  are  not  required  to  eat  their  feeds 
pretty  clean,  they  will  soon  learn  to  waste  large  quantities.  But  if  sheep 
are  overfed  with  either  hay  or  grain,  it  is  not  proper  to  compel  them  by 
starvation  to  come  back  and  eat  it.  They  will  not  unless  sorely  pinchei 
fUean  out  the  troughs, — or  rake  up  the  hay,  and  the  next  time  feed  less. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


HAY-HOLDERS. — Where  hay  or  other  fodder  is  thrown  out  of  the  upper 
doors  of  a  barn  into  the  sheep-yard,  as  it  always  must  necessarily  be  in  a 
barn  constructed  like  fig.  38,  or  any  mere  A#2/-barn,  or  where  it  is  thrown 
from  a  barrack  or  stack,  the  sheep  immediately  rush  on  it,  trampling  it  and 
soiling  it,  and  the  succeeding  forkfulls  fall  on  their  backs,  filling  their  wool 
with  dust,  seed  and  chaff.  This  is  avoided  by  hay-holders — yards  10  feet 
square — either  portable  'by  being  made  of  posts  and  boards,  or  simply  a 
pen  of  rails,  placed  under  the  doors  of  the  barns,  and  by  the  sides  of  each 
stack  or  barrack.  The  hay  is  pitched  into  the  holder,  in  fair  weather 
enough  for  a  day's  foddering  at  a  time,  and  is  taken  from  this  by  forkfulls 
and  placed  in  the  racks.  I  would  here  offer  a  necessary  caution  in  rela- 
tion to  the  use  of  rails  or  poles,  for  stack-pens  or  'hay -holders.  The  poles 
should  be  so  small  as  to  entirely  prevent  the  sheep  from  inserting  their  heads 
between  them  after  hay.  A  sheep  will  often  insert  its  head  where  the 
opening  is  wide  enough  for  that  purpose,  shove  it  along  or  get  crowded 
along,  to  where  the  opening  is  not  wide  enough  to  withdraw  the  head,  and 
it  will  hang  there  until  observed  and  extricated  by  the  shepherd.  If,  as  it 
often  happens,  it  is  thus  caught  when  its  fore  parts  are  elevated  by  climb- 
ing up  the  side  of  the  pen,  it  will  continue  to  lose  its  fore  footing  in  its 
struggles,  and  will  soon  choke  to  death. 

WINTER  DRY  FEED  FOR  SHEEP. — The  proper  dry  winter  fodder  for. sheep 
has  already  been  repeatedly  alluded  to,  in  general  terms.  Volumes  have 
been  expended  on  this  subject,  particularly  in  Germany — and  curious  and 
elaborate  systems  of  feeding  given.  In  Germany  great  stress  is  laid  on 
variety  in  the  winter  fodder.  In  the  German  Farmer's  Encyclopaedia,  the 
following  table  of  the  proper  variations  and  amounts  of  feed  is  given  by 
FETRI. 

TABLE  15. 


Day. 

Lbe. 

Loth, 
equal 
%  oz. 

Morning. 

Lb3. 

Loth, 
equal 
>6°*- 

Noon. 

Lbs. 

Loth, 
equal 
MOX. 

Evening. 

1 

21 

hay 

21 

hay 

21 

hay 

2 

1 

1 

rye  straw- 

1 

22 

hay 

1 

1 

rye  straw 

3 

23 

bean  straw 

26 

Vetch-hay 

23 

bean  straw 

4 

1 

wheat  straw 

1 

sainfoin 

1 

wheat  straw 

5 

1 

6 

oat  straw 

21 

hay 

1 

6 

oat  straw 

6 

1 

6 

artichoke  stalk 

1 

19 

red  clover 

1 

6 

artichoke  stalk 

7 

1 

8 

turkey  wheat 

1 

12 

lucern 

1 

8 

turkey-  wheat  str'w 

8 

1 

8 

buckwheat  straw 

1 

16 

hay 

1 

8 

buckwheat  straw 

9 

1 

6 

oat  straw 

7 

horse-beans 

1 

6 

oat  straw 

10 

19 

red  clover 

19 

red  clover 

19 

red  clover 

11 

18 

sainfoin 

18 

sainfoin 

18 

sainfoin 

12 

1 

6 

millet  straw 

1 

6 

millet  straw 

1 

6 

millet  straw 

13 

30 

lentil  straw 

• 

21 

hay 

30 

lentil  straw 

14 

30 

pea  straw 

21 

hay 

30 

pea  straw 

15 
16 

1 

30 
10 

barley  straw 
horse-bean  straw 

1 
1 

10 

artichoke  stalk 
horse-bean  straw 

1 

30 
10 

aarley  straw 
horse-bean  straw 

17 

1 

1 

rye  straw 

1 

11 

oat  straw 

1 

1 

rye  straw 

18 

1 

3 

wheat  straw 

1 

9 

oat  straw 

1 

3 

wheat  straw 

19 

1 

6 

rye  straw 

1 

turkey-wheat 

1 

3 

wheat  straw 

20 

1 

6 

oat  straw 

1 

turkey-wheat 

1 

6 

oat  straw 

21 

1 

3 

wheat  straw 

22 

artichoke  stalk 

1 

6 

oat  straw 

22 

30 

lentil  straw 

1 

30 

vetch  straw 

30 

lentil  straw 

23 

1 

6 

oat  straw 

1 

6 

wheat  straw 

1 

6 

oat  straw 

The  same  writer  gives  the  following  as  the  proper  winter  feed  of  a 
ewe,  the  month  preceding  lambing  : 


•212  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

TABLE  16. 

In  the  morning,  $  Ib.  of  good  oat  straw. 

noon £  ..    of  good  hay  of  clover.  * 

evening.. |  ..    of  good  barley  straw. 
morning,  f...    of  millet  straw. 

noon 2  ..    of  potatoes  with  4  oz.  of  chopped  straw,  and  4  oz.  of  oata. 

evening. ,J  ..    of  barley  straw, 
morning  .  $  ..    of  hay. 

noon |  . .    of  hay, 

evening..  1   ..    of  wheat,  oat,  barley  or  buckwheat  straw, 
morning  .  |  ..    of  summer  straw. 

noon £   ..    of  chopped  straw,  with  3  oz.  oats  and  3  oz.  bran,  moistened 

with  water. 

evening. -|  ..    of  winter  straw, 
morning.^  ..    of  hay. 

noon 2  ..    of  potatoes  -with  %  Ib.  of  chopped  straw. 

evening. .§  ..    of  winter  straw, 
morning  .%  ..    of  hay. 

noon as  in  4th  day, 

evening..!  Ib.  of  straw. 


6th  day 


All  this  would  be  infinitely  "  more  nice  than  wise,"  in  any  part  of  the 
United  States.  Variations  of  dry  fodder  are  well  enough,  but  hundreds- 
and  thousands  of  Northern  flocks  receive  nothing  but  ordinary  hay,  con- 
sisting mainly  of  Timothy,  (Phleum  pratcnsej  some  Red  and  White  Clo- 
ver, (  Tnfolium  pratense  et  rcpens,)  and  frequently  a  sprinkling  of  June  01 
Spear  grass,  (Poa  pratensis,)  during  the  entire  winter.  Others  receive  an 
occasional  fodder  of  corn-stalks  and  straw — and  some  farmers  give  a  daily 
feed  of  grain  through  the  winter.  Where  hay  is  the  principal  feed,  it  may 
oe  well,  where  it  is  convenient,  to  give  corn-stalks  (or  "blades")  every 
fifth  or  sixth  feed,  or  even  once  a  day.  Or  the  daily  feed,  not  ofJiay,  might 
alternate  between  blades,  pea-straw,  straw  of  the  cereal  grains.  &c.  Should 
any  other  fodder  besides  hay  be  the  principal  one,  as,  for  example,  corn 
blades  or  pea-haulm,  each  of  the  other  fodders  might  be  alternated  in  the 
same  way.  It  is  mainly,  in  my  judgment,  a  question  of  convenience  with 
the  flock-master,  provided  a  proper  supply  of  palatable  nutriment  within  a 
proper  compass,  is  given.  Hay,  clover,  properly  cured  pea-haulm,  and  corn- 
blades  are  palatable  to  the  sheep,  and  each  contain  the  necessary  supply 
of  nutriment  in  the  quantity  which  the>  sheep  can  readily  take  into  its  stom  • 
ach.  Consequently,  from  either  of  these,  the  sheep  can  derive  its  entire 
subsistence.  The  same  remarks  may,  possibly,  apply  to  greenish  cut  oat 
and  barley  straw;  but  it  would  not,  I  apprehend,  be  economical  or  alto- 
gether safe  to  confine  any  kind  of  sheep  to  the  straw  of  the  cereal  grains 
unless  some  of  those  little  hardy  varieties  of  sheep  which  would  be  of  no 
-value  in  this  country.  Experiment  will  readily  show  the  flock-master 
what  kinds  of  food  are  palatable  and  agree,  with  the  health  of  his  flock. 
The  following  exceedingly  valuable  Table,  prepared  by  Boussirigault,  will 
give  the  value  of  various  kinds  of  feed  in  comparison  with  ordinary  natu- 
ral meadow  hay,  as  ascertained  by  himself,  Von  Thaer,  Block,  and  other 
distinguished  Agricultural  Chemists.  The  results  are  obtained  by  chemi- 
cal analysis,  and  by  actual  experiments  in  feeding.  The  amount  of  nitro- 
gen in  100  parts  is  made  the  chemical  test  of  value,  as  it  shows  the  quan- 
tity of  fibrin,  albumen,  and  casein,  (by  multiplying  by  6.3.)  The  experi- 
mental result  is  obtained  by  weighing  the  animal  and  the  feed,  and  giving 
him  enough  of  each  to  maintain  him  in  good  condition. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SO/TH. 


215 


TABLE  17. 


FODDERS. 

TABLE  OF  THE  NUTRITIVE  EQUIVALENTS  OF  DIFFERENT  KINDS  OF  FODDERS. 

Kinds  of  Food. 

f| 

|| 
£ 

I 

f! 

£ 

& 

ys 

S-Sg 
«s 

1 

I 

'£ 

y 

CH 

S3 
1" 

:1 

«j 

i 

Remarks. 

Ordinary  natural  meadow  hay  
Do.  of  fine  quality  

11.0 
14.0 
18.8 
14.0 
16.6 
10.1 
76.0 
26.0 
8.5 
5.3 
9.4 
18.7 
12.6 
21.0 
11.0 
8.5 
19.0 
11.6 
9.2 

11.0 

76.0 

88.9 
70.9 

1.34 
1.50 
2.40 
2.44 
1.66 
1.70 

0.36 
0.53 
0.43 
1.42 
0.30 
0.50 
0.36 
0.30 
1.95 
0.96 
0.54 
1.18 
1.16 

2.30 
4.50 
2.94 

1.15 
1.30 
2.00 
2.10 
1.38 
1.54 
0.64 
0.27 
0.49 
0.41 
1.33 
0.24 
0.42 
0.30 
0.25 
1.79 
0.78 
0.48 
1.01 

1.14 

055 

0.50 
0.85 
0.37 
1.45 
0.86 
0.92 
0.72 
0.28 
0.17 
0.13 
0.21 
0.18 
0.30 
0.33 
0.4-2 
0.3fi 
0.37 
0.30 
0.59 
0.38 
4.37 
5.11 
3.84 
4.58 
4.00 
1.64 
2.10 
1.76 
2.14 
1.74 
1.92 
2.00 
2.09 
2.65 

1.36 

0.85 
1.20 
3.67 
5.06 
5.20 
4.92 
5.51 
4.21 
5.36 
5.24 
3.31 
8.33 
0.80 
1.71 

100 
98 
58 
55 
83 
75 
311 
426 
235 
280 
86 
479 
i.50 
383 
460 
64 
147 
240 
114 

101 

209 
230 
135 
311 
79 
134 
125 
160 
411 
676 
885 
548 
669 
382 
348 
274 
319 
311 
383 
195 
303 
26 
23 
27 
25 
29 
70 
55 
65 
54 
68 
60 
58 
55 
43 

85 

135 
96 
3! 
23 
22 
23 
21 
27 
21 
22 
35 
14 
143 
68 

100 

100 
430 
200 

200 

200 
193 
165 

160 

•600 

73 

67 
83 

556 

533 

366 
366 
205 

216 
400 

30 
30 
30 

33 

27 

105 
160 

42 

100 

90 
90 

360 

500 

200 
180 
200 
250 
200 
200 

125 
300 

500 
300 
COO 
,400 

250 

200 

54 
54 
54 
39 

52 
64 
61 

71 
52 

180 
62 

100 

150 

150 

150 
150 
150 

250 

290 
250 

225 
150 

50 
48 

53 
46 

100 

90 
90 
450 
450 

666 

190 

150 
130 

130 

429 
300 
526 
460 

300 

200 

66 
73 
66 

78 
86 

64 

IOC 

100 
100 
425 
300 

200 
200 
150 

150 
100 

600 
325 

600 
250 
•450 
250 

250 
200 

40 
40 

40 

50 
60 

40 
75 

90,  90  Dombasle, 
[Ciud. 

500  Rieder. 

400  Schwertz. 
400         do. 
90  Pohl. 

80  Boussingault. 
280           do. 

280  Boussingault 

59  Boussingault. 

C  Some  specimens 
I  are  twice  as  rich. 

Do    select 

Do.  freed  from  woody  stems  

lied  clover  hay,  2d  year's  growth. 
Red  clover  cut  in  flower,  green,  do. 

Do.  do.  lower  parts  of  the  stalk... 
Do.  do.  upper  part  of  do.  and  ear.  . 

Old  do        

Barley  do.  

Millet  do. 

Buckwheat  do  

Vetches  cut  in  flower  and  dried  ? 

Field-beet  leaves..  

Jerusalem  artichoke  stems 

86.4 
55.0 
62.5 
57.4 
53.6 
92.3 
91.0 
92.5 
87.8 
R->6 

2.70 
3.25 

2.2!) 
2.16 
1  .5!! 
3.70 
1.83 
1.70 
1.70 
1  43 

Lime-trees,  young  shoots  
Canada  Poplar  do 

Oak  do  

Drum  cabbage  

Turnip  

Field-beet  (1838)  

Do  white  Silesian 

Carrots  

87.6 
79.2 

2.40 
1.60 
220 

Jerusalem  artichokes  (1839) 

Do.  (1836)..    .. 

75  5 

Potatoes  (1838)  

65.9 
79.4 
76.8 
6.4 
70.0 
14.6 
7.9 
8.6 
5.0 
9.0 
18.0 
12.5 
132 

1.50 
1.80 
1.18 
0.63 

5.13 
-5.50 
4.20 
4.30 
4.40 
2.00 
2.40 
2.02 
2.46 
2.20 
2.22 
2.27 
2.33 
3.18 
2.18 

0.94 
1.39 
4.00 
5.70 
6.00 
5.50 
5.93 
4.78 
5.70 
5.59 
3.53 
8.89 

3.31 

Do.  (1836). 

Do.  after  keepin"  in  the  pit 

Cider  apple  pulp'dried  in  the  air.. 
Beet-root  from  the  sugar  mill  
Vetches  in  seed  

Field-beans  .... 

White  peas  (dry)  

White  haricots  

New  Indian  Corn 

Buckwheat  

Barley  (1836)  

Barley-meal  

13.0 
20.8 
12,4 

Oats  (1838)  

Do.  (1836)  

live  (J838)  

11.5 
10.5 
16.6 

37.1 

7.6 
13.4 
8.0 
11.2 
13.4 
10.5 
6.5 
5.0 
6.8 
6.0 
6.2 
6.6 

Wheat  (1836,  Alsace)  

Do.  from  highly  manured  soil  

Wheat  husks  or  chaff  ..... 

Rice  (Piedmont) 

Gold  of  Pleasure  seed  (Madia)  

Colza  do  

Arachis  (Pindars)  do  

Refuse  of  the  wine-press,  air-dried  j  48.2 

214: 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


The  great  value  of  pea-haul m,  as  shown  in  the  above  Table,  is  worthy  ot 
the  particular  notice  of  the  Southern  flock-master.  Also  that  of  millet 
straw,  another  crop  peculiarly  congenial  to  the  Southern  States,  provided 
it  can  be  cured  so  that  sheep  will  eat  it.  Corn-stalks  are  not,  unfortunate- 
ly, included  in  the  Table.  According  to  Petri,  100  pounds  of  corn  "  straw," 
(including  stalks  and  leaves,  I  suppose,)  contains  but  £  as  much  nutriment 
*s  the  same  weight  of  "  aromatic  meadow  hay,"  and  not  so  much  by  ^  as 
an  equal  weight  of  oat  or  pea  straw,  which  he  makes  equivalent  to  each 
other!  My  opinion  is  that  this  by  no  means  indicates  the  comparative 
value  of  well  cured  corn-stalks.  No  analysis  of  them  now  occurs  to  me, 
in  any  authority  which  I  have  on  hand.  Mr.  Ellsworth,  of  the  Patent  Of- 
fice, stated  in  the  Cultivator  in  1842,  that  the  juice  of  corn-stalks,  on 
Beaume's  Saccharometer,  is  equal  in  saccharine  matter  with  that  of  the 
cane  in  this  country,  five  times  greater  than  that  of  the  Northern  sugar- 
maple,  (Acer  saccharinum,)  and  three  times  that  of  beet!  The  daily  ex- 
periments of  our  farmers  demonstrate  the  absurdity  of  placing  corn-stalks 
below  the  value  of  the  cereal  straws.  Cured  green  and  bright  they  are  a 
highly  valuable  fodder,  and  are  relished  by  all  herbivorous  animals.  My 
friend,  James  M.  Ellis,  Esq.  of  Onondaga,  N.  Y.,  one  of  the  best  managing 
flock- masters  of  this  State,  has  fed  corn-stalks  largely  to  his  sheep  for  sev- 
eral years  and  with  decided  succes. 

EFFECT  OF  FOOD  IN  THE  PRODUCTION  OF  WOOL. — The  fact  has  been  be- 
fore alluded  to  that  well  fed  sheep  produce  more  wool  than  poorly  fed 
ones.  The  question  now  arises — if  the  effect  on  the  condition  (flesh)  of  the 
sheep  is  the  same,  will  one  kind  of  food  produce  more  wool  than  another  1 
No  doctrine  is  more  clearly  recognized  in  Agricultural  Chemistry,  than 
that  animal  tissues  derive  their  chemical  components  from  the  same  com- 
ponents existing  in  their  food.*  The  analyses  of  Liebig,  Johnston,  Scherer, 
Flayfair,  Boeckmann,  Mulder,  &c.,  show  that  the  chemical  composition  of 
wool,  hair,  hoofs,  nails,  horns*  feathers,  lean  meat,  blood,  cellular  tissue, 
nerves,  &c.  are  nearly  identical.  The  organic  part  of  wool,  according  to 
Johnston,t  consists  of  carbon  50.65,  hydrogen  7.03,  nitrogen  17.71,  oxy 
gen  and  sulphur  24.61.  The  inorganic  constituents  are  small.  When 
burned,  it  leaves  but  2'0  per  cent  of  ash.  The  large  quantity  of  nitro 
gen  (17.71)  contained  in  wool,  shows  that  its  production  is  increased  by 
highly  azotized  food.  This  is  fully  verified  by  the  experiments  made  on 
Saxon  sheep,  in  Silesia,  by  Reaumur,  whose  Table  I  append.  A  striking 
correspondence  will  be  found  to  exist  between  the  amount  of  wool  and  the 
amount  of  nitrogen  in  the  food. 

TABLE  18. 


Kinds  of  food. 

Increase  of 
weight  in 
live  animal. 

Produced 
wool. 

Produced 
tallow. 

Nitrogen 
per  cent, 
in  food. 

Ibs.        oz. 

Ibs.        oz. 

46£ 
44 
38 
134 
155 
90 
83 
146 
136 
120 
58 

31 
35 

6          8J 
6         8 
5         3J 
14       11 
13       13J 
13       14$ 
12       10| 
9       12 
11         6| 
10          4| 
7       10$ 

15         8 
6         1 

12       51 
10     14| 
6       5\ 
41       6 
59       9 
35     111 
33       8| 
40       8 
60       1 
33       8 
12     14 

6     11 

4       0 

0.36 
0.36 
0.21 
3.83 
2.09 
2.00 
2.00 
1.70 
1.90 
2.10 
1.15 

1000                       4*          "      without  salt 

1000       .          wheat  

1000                  rye    with  salt.....  ............ 

1000                 oats  

1000                  barley 

1000                  buckwheat                ... 

'  1000                  good  hay 

1000       .          hay,  with  straw,  without  other 
fodder  

HW9       ..        whisky,  still-grains  or  wash  

*  For  full  information  on  this  whole  subject,  see  Liebig's  Animal  Chemistry,  Part  I  and  II. 
t  See  Johnston's  Agricultural  Chemistry— Lecture  XVIII.  Analyses  of  the  horny  tissue*,  by  Scheror  wil) 
be  found  in  the  Appendix  to  Liebig's  Animal  Chemistry. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTHN 


The  singular  difference  stated  in  the'Table,  between  the  amount  of  wool 
produced  by  "  good  hay,"  and  "  hay  with  straw  without  other  fodder,"  J 
confess  is  scarcely  credible  to  me.  It  may  be  a  misprint  in  the  Table  from 
which  I  copy. 

The  peculiar  value  of  pease  not  only  in  increasing  the  wool,  where  they 
rank  j£rs£,*  but  in  the  average  comparative  increase  which  they  produce  in 
all  the  tissues,  is  again  worthy  of  notice. 

EFFECT  OF  FOOD  IN  PRODUCING  FAT  AND  MUSCLE. — The  increase  of  fat 
and  muscle,  as  of  wool,  depends  upon  the  nature  of  the  food.  It  would 
be  foreign  from  my  purpose  to  enter  into  an  elaborate  theoretical  exam- 
ination of  this  subject.  Liebig,  in  Parts  I.  and  II.  of  his  Animal  Chemis- 
try, has  covered  the  whole  ground,  and  to  him  I  take  the  liberty  to  refei 
you.  Mr.  Spooner,  writing  for  England,  wrhere  the  production  of  flesh 
and  fat  is  the  primary  object  of  Sheep  Husbandry,  has  given  a  synopsis 
of  Liebig's  positions,  analyses,  &c.,  in  his  chapter  (XXI.)  on  Feeding  and 
Fattening — and  the  substance  of  this  is  again  repeated  by  Mr.  Morrell  in 
his  chapters  on  the  same  subjects,  in  The  American  Shepherd.  To  either 
of  the  latter  I  would  refer  you  for  sufficient  details  for  practical  purposes, 
or  fovfull  information,  to  Liebig. 

The  Tables  of  Boussingault  and  Reaumur,  already  given,  (Tables  17  and 
18,)  sufficiently  indicate  the  value  of  the  various  grains,  straw,  roots,  &c., 
in  fattening. 

It  is  not  very  common,  in  the  North,  for  wool-growers  to  fatten  their 
wethers,  for  market,  by  extra  winter  feeding.  Some  give  them  a  little 
more  generous  keep  the  winter  before  they  are  to  be  turned  off,  and  then 
sell  them  when  they  have  attained  their  maximum  fatness  the  succeeding 
fall.  When  winter  fattening  is  attempted,  sheep  require  warm,  dry  shel- 
ters, and  should  receive,  in  addition  to  all  the  hay  they  will  eat,  meal  twice 
a  day  in  troughs — or  meal  once  and  chopped  roots  once.  The  equivalent 
of  from  half  a  pint  to  a  pint  of  (yellow)  corn  meal  per  head  per  diem  is 
about  as  much  as  ordinary  flocks  of  Merino  wethers  will  profitably  con- 
sume, though  in  selected  flocks  consisting  of  large  animals,  this  amount  is 
frequently  exceeded. 

FEEDING  GRAIN  TO  STORE-SHEEP  IN  WINTER. — The  expediency  of  feed- 
ing grain  to  store-sheep  in  winter  depends  much  upon  circumstances.  If 
in  a  climate  where  they  can  obtain  a  proper  supply  of  grass  or  other  green 
esculents,  it  would,  of  course,  be  unnecessary.  Neither  is  it  a  matter  of 
necessity  where  the  ground  is  frozen  or  covered  with  snow  for  weeks  or 
months,  provided  the  sheep  be  supplied  plentifully  with  good  dry  fodder. 
Near  markets  where  the  coarse  grains  find  a  good  and  ready  sale,  it  is  not 
usual  in  the  North,  to  feed  grain.  Remote  from  markets,  it  is  generally 
frd  by  the  holders  of  large  flocks.  Oats  are  commonly  preferred,  and 
they  are  fed  at  the  rate  of  a  gill  a  head  per  day.  Some  feed  half  the 
same  amount  of  (yellow)  corn.  Fewer  sheep — particularly  lambs,  year- 
lings, and  crones — get  thin  and  perish,  where  they  receive  a  daily  feed  of 
grain;  they  consume  less  hay ;  and  their  fleeces  are  increased  in  weigJit. 
On  the  whole,  therefore,  it  is  considered  good  economy.  Where  no  grain 
is  fed,  three  daily  feeds  of  hay  are  given.  It  is  a  common  and  very  good 
practice  to  feed  greenish  cut  oats  in  ike  bundle,  at  noon,  and  give  but  two 
feeds  of  hay — one  at  morning  and  one  at  night.  A  few  feed  greenish 
cut  peas  in  the  same  way.  In  warm,  thawing  weather  when  sheep  get 

*  With  the  exception  of  "  hay  and  straw  " — the  given  product  of  which,  in  wool,  I  have  already  slate4 
must  undoubtedly  be  misprinted. 


2J6  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

to  the  ground,  and  refuse  dry  hay,  a  little  grain  assists  materially  in 
keeping  up  their  strength  and  condition.  This  may  furnish  a  useful 
hint  for  many  parts  of  the  South.  When  the  feed  is  shortest  in  winter, 
in  the  South,  there  are  many  localities  where  sheep  would  get  enough 
grass  to  take  off  their  appetite  for  dry  hay,  but  not  quite  enough  to  keep 
them  in  prime  condition.  A  moderate  daily  feed  of  oats  or  pease  placed 
in  the  depository  racks,  would  keep  them  strong,  in  good  plight  for  the 
lambing  season,  and  increase  their  weight  of  wool. 

Few  Northern  farmers  feed  Indian  corn  to  store-sheep.  It  is  consid- 
ered "  too  hot  and  stimulating,"  and  sheep  are  thought  to  be  more  liable 
to  become  "  cloyed  "  on  it  than  on  oats,  pease,  &c.  I  never  have  fed  it  to 
sheep  sufficiently  to  speak  advisedly  on  this  point.  A  neighboring  flock- 
master  whose  admirable  arrangements  for  keeping  sheep  are  only  equaled 
by  his  usual  success,  lost  most  of  a  large  flock  of  lambs  a  few  winters 
since.  They  received  all  they  would  eat  of  the  best  hay,  and,  as  the 
owner  supposed,  a  half  gill  of  corn  a  head  per  day.  They  were  in  fine 
order  in  the  beginning,  and  for  some  time  into  the  winter.  During  a  thaw, 
when  they  got  a  little  off  from  their  feed,  and  looked  "  hollow,"  the  shep- 
herd, without  the  knowledge  of  the  owner,  increased  the  feed  of  corn. 
This  caused  them  to  eat  still  less  hay,  and  the  shepherd  not  only  continued 
but  increased  the  allowance  of  the  corn  as  their  appetite  for  hay  dimin- 
ished. In  a  short  time  they  ate  scarcely  any  hay,  and  soon  after  began  to 
eat  their  corn  very  irregularly.  Their  stomachs  were  now  so  completely 
deranged,  that  they  would  not  eat  anything,  in  quantities  sufficient  for 
their  subsistence,  and  they  perished  rapidly  and  miserably.  The  same 
consequences  might  doubtless  have  ensued  from  feeding  other  grains,  in 
the  same  improper  manner.  But  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  evil 
would  have  been  less  rapid  and  remediless  with  some  other  grains.  I  do 
not  consider  yellow  corn  a  very  safe  feed,  at  least  for  lambs  and  yearlings. 
From  the  obviously  different  character  of  the  larger  Southern  varieties, 
I  presume  they  would  be  less,  and  very  probably  not  at  all,  objectionable 
for  sheep  feed.  Half  a  gill  of  yellow  corn,  or  a  gill  of  oats  per  head,  is  a 
sufficient  daily  allowance  of  grain.  While  there  can  be  nothing  more  ab- 
surd than  the  German  starving  system  to  increase  the  fineness  of  the  wool, 
excessive  fatness  is  not  to  be  aimed  at,  especially  in  breeding-ewes.  Store 
sheep  should  be  kept  in  good,  fair, plump  condition.  Lambs  and  yearlings 
may  be  as  fat  as  they  will  become  on  proper  feeding. 

It  will  not  do  to  suffer  sheep  to  get  thin  in  the  winter,  with  the  idea 
that  their  condition  can  at  any  time  be  readily  raised  by  better  feed,  as 
with  the  horse  or  ox.  It  is  always  difficult,  and  unless  properly  managed, 
expensive  and  hazardous,  to  attempt  to  raise  the  condition  of  a  poor  flock 
in  the  winter — especially  if  they  have  reached  that  point  where  they  mani- 
fest weakness.  If  the  feeding  of  a  liberal  allowance  of  grain  be  suddenly 
commenced,  fatal  diarrhea  will  frequently  supervene.  All  extra  feeding, 
ih eie fore,  must  be  begun  very  gradually,  and  it  does  not  seem,  in  any  case, 
to  produce  proportionable  results. 

I  have  seen  it  stated  that  sheep  will  eat  cotton-seed  and  thrive  on  it. 
[f  this  be  true,  this  must,  of  course,  be  a  far  more  remunerating  applica- 
tion of  that  product,  than  as  a  mere  manure  to  soils. 

FEEDING  ROOTS,  BROWSE,  £c.,  IN  WINTER. — Ruta-bagas,  Irish  potatoes, 
&c.,  make  a  good  substitute  for  grain,  as  an  extra  feed  for  grown  sheep, 
I  prefer  the  ruta-baga  to  the  potato  in  equivalents  of  nutriment.  I  do  not 
consider  either  of  them,  or  any  other  root,  as  good  for  lambs  and  yearlings 
as  an  eqvmalent  in  grain.  Sheep  may  be  tauglii  to  eat  nearly  all  the  cul 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  2J7 

tivated  roots.  This  is  done  by  withholding  salt  from  them,  and  then  feed- 
ing the  chopped  root  a  few  times  rubbed  with  just  sufficient  salt  to  induce 
them  to  eat  the  root  to  obtain  it ;  but  not  enough  to  satisfy  their  appetite 
for  salt  before  they  have  acquired  a  taste  for  the  roots. 

It  is  customary  with  some  of  our  flock-masters  to  cut  down  from  time 
to  time,  in  the  winter,  and  draw  into  the  sheep-yards,  young  trees  of  the 
hsmlock  (Abies  canadensis).  The  foliage  is  greedily  eaten  by  sheep,  af 
ter  being  confined  for  some  time  to  dry  feed.  I  have  known  sheep,  un- 
doubtedly, I  think,  killed  by  overeating  it.  This  browse  is  commonly  used 
for  some  supposed  medicinal  virtues.  It  is  pronounced  "  healthy  for 
sheep."  The  popular  supposition  is  that  it  is  a  tonic  and  stimulant.  If 
this  be  true,  which  I  will  not  pause  to  inquire,  of  what  good  use  are  tonics 
and  stimulants  to  healthy  animals  1  With  sheep,  as  with  horses,  and  even 
with  men,  preventive  medicines  are  productive  of  injury  in  a  thousand 
cases,  where  they  are  of  benefit  in  one.  There  could  be  no  objection,  cer- 
tainly, to  sheep's  eating  the  foliage  of  the  hemlock,  if  it  was  constantly 
accessible  to  them.  Their  instincts,  in  that  case,  would  teach  them 
whether,  and  in  what  quantities,  to  devour  it.  But  when  entirely  confined 
to  dry  feed  for  a  protracted  period,  sheep  will  consume  hurtful  and  even 
poisonous  succulents — and  of  the  most  wholesome  ones,  hurtful  quantities. 
As  a  mere  laxative,  an  occasional  feed  of  hemlock  may  be  beneficial ;  but 
in  this  point  of  view,  a  day's  run  at  grass  in  a  thaw,  or  a  feed  of  roots, 
would  produce  the  same  result.  In  a  climate  where  grass  is  obtained 
most  of  the  time,  I  should  consider  browse  for  medicinal  purposes  entirety 
unnecessary.  

WINTER  FEED  OP  BREEDING-EWES. — Until  two  or  three  weeks  pre- 
ceding lambing,  it  is  only  necessary  that  breeding-ewes,  like  other  store- 
sheep,  be  kept  in  good  plump  ordinary  condition.  Nor  are  any  separate 
arrangements  necessary  for  them,  after  that  period,  in  a  climate  wher?* 
they  obtain  sufficient  succulent  food  to  provide  for  a  proper  secretion  of 
milk.  In  backward  seasons  in  the  North,  where  the  grass  does  not  start 
prior  to  the  lambing  time,  careful  flock-masters  feed  their  ewes  chopped 
roots,  or  roots  mixed  with  oat  or  pea  meal.  This  is,  in  my  judgment, 
excellent  economy.* 

REGULARITY  IN  FEEDING. — If  there  is  one  rule  which  may  be  consider 
ed  more  imperative  than  any  other  in  Sheep  Husbandry,  it  is  that  the  ut- 
most regularity  be  preserved  in  feeding.  First,  there  should  be  regularity 
as  to  the  times  of  feeding.  However  abundantly  provided  for,  when  a 
fljck  are  foddered  sometimes  at  one  hour  and  sometimes  at  another— 
sometimes  three  times  a  day  and  sometimes  twice — some  days  grain  and 
some  days  none—tkey  cannot  be  made  to  thrive.  They  will  .do  far  better 
on  inferior  keep,  if  fed  with  strict  regularity.  In  a  climate  where  they  re- 
quire hay  three  times  a  day,  the  best  times  for  feeding  are  about  sunrise  in 
the  morning,  at  noon,  and  an  hour  before  dark  at  night.  Unlike  cattle  and 
horses,  sheep  do  not  eat  well  in  the  dark,  and  therefore  they  should  have 
time  to  consume  their  feed  before  night  sets  in.  Noon  is  the  common  time 
for  feeding  grain  or  roots,  and  is  the  best  time  if  but  two  fodderings  of  hay 
are  given.  If  the  sheep  receive  hay  three  times,  it  is  not  a. matter  of 
much  consequence  with  which  feeding  the  grain  is  given,  only  that  the 
practice  be  uniform. 

It  is  also  highly  essentid  that  there  be  regularity  preserved  in  the  amount 
fed.  The  consumption  of  hay  will,  it  is  true,  depend  much  upon  the 

*  For  the  effect  of  the  various  esculents  on  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  milk,  see  Liebig's  Animal  Chem 

2E 


218  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

weather.  The  keener  the  cold,  the  more  sheep  will  eat.  In  the  South 
much  would  also  depend  upon  the  amount  of  grass  obtained.  In  manj 
places  a  light  daily  foddering  would  suffice — in  others,  a  light  foddering 
placed  in  the  depository  racks  once  in  two  days  would  answer  the  purpose. 
In  the  steady  cold  weather  of  the  North,  the  shepherd  readily  learns  to  de- 
termine about  how  much  hay  will  be  consumed  before  the  next  foddering 
time.  And  this  is  the  amount  which  should,  as  near  as  may  be,  be  regu- 
larly fed.  In  feeding  grain  or  roots  there  is  no  difficulty  in  preserving  en- 
tire  regularity,  and  it  is  vastly  more  important  than  in  feeding  hay.  Of 
the  latter  a  sheep  will  not  overeat  and  surfeit  itself.  Of  the  former  it  wilL, 
And  if  not  fed  grain  to  the  point  of  surfeiting,  but  still  over-plenteously, 
it  will  expect  a  like  amount  at  the  next  feeding,  and  failing  to  receive  it, 
will  pine  for  it  and  manifest  uneasiness.  The  effect  of  such  irregularity 
on  the  stomach  and  system  of  any  animal  is  bad — and  the  sheep  suffers 
more  from  it  than  any  other  animal.  I  would  much  rather  that  my  flock 
receive  no  grain  at  all,  than  that  they  receive  it  without  regard  to  regular- 
ity in  the  amount.  The  shepherd  should  be  required  to  measure  out  the 
grain  to  sheep  in  alHnstances — instead  of  guessing  it  out — and  to  measure 
it  to  each  separate  flock. 

SALT. — Sheep  undoubtedly  require  salt  in  winter.  Some  salt  their  hay 
when  it  is  stored  in  the  barn  or  stack.  This  is  objectionable,  as  you  thus 
constitute  yourself  the  judge,  or  controller  in  a  matter,  where  the  appetite 
of  the  sheep  is  a  much  safer  guide.  It  may  be  left  accessible  to  them  in 
the  salt-box  (fig.  28)  as  in  summer,  or  it  is  an  excellent  plan  to  give  them  an 
occasional  feed  of  brined  hay  or  straw.  This  last  is  done  in  warm  thaw- 
ing weather,  when  their  appetite  is  poor,  and  thus  serves  a  double  purpose. 
With  a  wisp  of  straw  sprinkle  a  thin  layer  of  straw  with  brine — then  an- 
other layer  of  straw  and  another  sprinkling,  and  so  on.  Let  this  lie  until 
the  next  day,  for  the  brine  to  be  absorbed  by  the  straw,  and  then  feed  it  to 
all  the  grazing  animals  on  the  farm  which  need  salting. 

WATER. — Unless  sheep  have  access  to  succulent  food  or  clean  snow, 
water  is  indispensable.  Constant  access  to  a  brook  or  spring  is  best,  but 
in  default  of  this,  they  should  be  watered,  at  least  once  a  day,  in  some  other 
way. 


THE  BEST  THINGS  TO  IMPORT  ARE  BIPEDS, 

OH  two-legged  animals,  for  they  not  only  consume  largely  of  the  products  of  the  cotton-grower,  the  wool- 
grower,  and  the  iron-master,  (and  always  in  proportion  to  their  wages,)  hut  by  their  labour,  they  produce 
and  add  largely  to  the  elements  of  the  best  sort  of  commerce  and  free-trade — commerce  and  free-trade 
among  ourselves.  We  therefore  rejoice  much  more  when  we  see  amounts  of  the  importation  of  men  and 
women,  than  of  cattle  and  sheep.  There  is  no  better  sign  of  tLe  prosperity  of  a  country  than  when  you 
see  men  flocking  into  it  from  all  parts  of  the  world;  and  it  the  labour  of  the  country  had  been  steadily 
protected,  as  it  was  some  years  since,  we  should  by  this  tim3  bar<>  imported  annually,  more  by  a  million, 
than  we  now  do.  Talk  of  military  glory! — the  glory  of  success  in  the  work  of  "  blood  and  slaughter  I" 
—there  is  no  glory  to  be  compared  with  that  administration  of  the  affairs  of  a  country,  which  wins  for  it 
the  regard  and  admiration  of  the  world,  and  makes  of  it  a  great  magnet,  attracting  the  talents,  the 
eapital,  and  the  labour  of  men  of  all  nations.  One  year  of  such  bloodless  and  beneficent  glory  is  worth 
•n  eternity  of  fame,  won  by  arms  and  by  conquest. 

Immigration,  says  a  New  York  paper,  for  the  last  month  has  been  quite  large,  yet  we  see  that,  as  com- 
pared with  the  same  seven  months  of  last  year,  instead  of  going  on  rapidly  augmenting,  as  it  weuld  do 
under  a  common-sense  (not  party)  system,  it  had  actually  fallen  off.  The  Journal  of  Commerce  gives 
it  as  34,810  souls.  Of  the  whole  number  16,169  were  from  Ireland,  8449  from  Germany,  4788  from  Eng- 
land, and  1386  from  Scotland.  The  following  table  will  show  the  immigration  at  New  York  for  the  yean 
1849  and  1850,  up  to  the  1st  of  August  :— 


Year  1848.  Year  1S5C 

January 3,258        .  13,154 

February 8.8 '9       .  3,206 

March '    9,630        .  5,569 

April 19,934  14,627 

Immigration  leu  tk  t  rear 


Year  18 18.  Year  185C. 

May            37,406      '.  42,840 

Jun«            28,985       .  11.763 

July             31,634        .  34.810 

Total           .                        .             144,656        .  125,975 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  219 


LETTER  XIV. 

ANATOMY  AND  DISEASES  OF  SHEEP. 


Cfearacte/  of  American  ovine  veterinary  works— of  the  English.  ..Anatomical  details  of  the  latter  valuable 
— necessity  of  cutting  clear  from  their  systems  of  pathology  and  therapeutics — reasons.  ..Exciting  causes 
uf  disease  even  in  adjacent  localities  in  England  not  the  same— popular  superstitions  on  the  subject.  ..Ne- 
cessarily greater  differences  as  between  remote  countries  possessing  different  climates,  etc Ravages  of 

rot  in  Europe — scarcely  known  in  most  parts  of  America... Exciting  causes  apparently  the  same  in  both... 
Hoof-ail,  though  retained  here  by  contagion,  not  primarily  produced  by  the  same  causes  as  in  England. .. 
Various  European  diseases  not  known  here. .  .Difference  in  the  pathology  of  the  same  diseases  in  this  coun- 
try and  in  England... The  English  ones  accompanied  with  more  inflammatory  action — the  American  of  an 
asthenia  or  sinking  character.  .-.Pathological  differences  require  a  corresponding  difference  in  therapeutics 
English  system  of  therapeutics  objectionable  for  the  above  reason — on  account  of  its  expensiveness— 
and,  for  popular  purposes,  by  the  extent  of  its  pharmacopise. .  .The  proper  ovine  veterinary  system  to  be 
adopted— manner  of  classifying  diseases.  ..Anatomy  of  the  Sheep — how  far  to  be  studied — directions  to  be- 
ginners..  .The  Omentum. .  .The  Rumen. .  .The  Reticulum.  ..The  Maniplus. . .The  Abomasum. . .The  func- 
tions of  the  different  Stomachs... The  Duodenum. ..The  Jejunum... The  Ileum...The  Coecum...The 
Colon... The  Rectum... The  Mesentary.-.The  process  of  digestion...  The  Spleen... The  Pancreas...  The 
Liver.  ..The  Kidneys. ..The  Bladder.. .The  Uterus  and  Vagina, 


Dear  Sir :  Most  of  the.  veterinary  works  which  have  appeared  in  this 
country  in  relation  to  the  Sheep,  Horse,  and  other  domestic  animals,  have 
been  made  up  simply  of  medical  recipes ;  or,  if  they  have  given  systems 
of  veterinary  nosology  and  pathology,  these  systems  have  been  mere  tran- 
scripts of  those  of  European,  and  particularly  of  English  writers. 

I  have  examined  all,  1  believe,  of  the  most  celebrated  late  English  au- 
thors, scientific  and  empirical,*  on  the  diseases  of  the  Sheep  and  their 
cures.  For  anatomical  and  general  pathological  details,  the  works  of  some 
of  the  former  possess  great  value,  and  compare  favorably  with  the  treatises 
on  the  same  topics  by  the  most  eminent  physicians  and  surgeons.  This  is 
particularly  true  of  the  work  on  Sheep  by  the  late  Mr.  Youatt — the  fount- 
ain-head from  which  most  of  the  later  English  writers  on  the  same  subject 
have  so  liberally  drawn,  and  will  probably  continue  so  to  do  for  a  century 
to  come.  For  minute  accuracy  of  description,  particularly  in  the  depart- 
ment of  pathology — for  elaborate  research  into  both  facts  and  authorities 
— for  clearness  and  sparkling  vivacity  of  style,  this  gentleman,  it  seems  to 
me,  is  entirely  without  a  competitor  among  the  English  veterinarians,  and 
his  works  will  bear  reading  alongside  those  of  a  Cooper,  a  Louis,  and  a 
Chapman. 

I  have  hesitated  whether  to  transcribe  entire  Mr.  Youatt's  treatise  on 
the  Anatomy  of  the  Sheep.  It  would  be  the  sheerest  affectation — not  to 
say  plagiarism — to  publish  a  mere  abridgment  of  his  remarks,  or  their  sub- 
stance dressed  up  in  other  words,  as  some  late  English  writers  have  done, 
for  the  purpose  of  setting  up  pretensions  to  that  originality  which  Mr.  You- 
att has  left  so  little  room  for  in  this  department.  But  as  these  Letters,  Sir 
are  published  for  the  benefit  of  the  many,  rather  than  to  instruct  those  al- 
ready versed  to  any  considerable  extent  in  Veterinary  Science,  I  have  been 
led  to  doubt  whether  any  systematic  treatise  on  Anatomy  is  necessary.  On 
the  whole,  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  farther  than  to  exhibit  the 


*  I  do  not  use  the  word  "empirical"  here  in  its  invidious  sense.  I  mean  to  describe  by  it  a  class  of 
writers  verted  in  experiments  merely,  as  contradistinguished  from  thc«e  who  possess  a  scientific  knowledge 
»f  physiology,  pathology,  therapeutics,  &c. 


220  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

localities  of  disease,  explain  certain  operations  in  the  animal  economy,  anj 
render  terms  intelligible,  it  would  be  time  thrown  away. 

In  pathology  somewhat,  and  to  a  much  greater  extent  in  the  systems  oi 
therapeutics  adopted,  [  have  found  it  necessary  to  cut  clear  from  all  Eng 
lish  ovine  veterinarians.  If  this  is  regarded  as  presumptuous,  I  have  only 
to  say  that  the  testimony  or  opinions  of  that  man  are  worth  little  who  sc 
far  pins  his  faith  on  another's  views,  as  to  disregard  the  plain  evidence  of 
his  own  senses.  The  salutary  rule  of  the  law  is,  each  witness  testifies  tc 
what  lie  has  seen,  and  to  what,  crediting  the  assertions  of  his  own  senses, 
lie  knows.  It  is  for  the  investigating  tribunal  to  decide  what  weight  shall 
be  attached  to  the  testimony.  That  tribunal,  in  the  present  case,  is  the 
public. 

But  in  reality,  a  discrepancy  of  views  on  the  above  subjects,  does  not  ne- 
cessarily imply  an  error  on  either  side.  The  pathology  of  diseases  fre- 
quently does  not  coincide,  as  between  different  climates  and  countries,  and 
sometimes,  singularly  enough,  between  contiguous  localities  in  the  same 
country.  This  is  especially  true  as  regards  the  origin  or  exciting  cause 
of  disease.  "Where  the  atmospheric,  alimentary,  and  all  other  observable 
conditions  are  nearly  identical,  occult  causes  which  baffle  the  closest  and 
most  scientific  scrutiny,  not  unfrequently  either  periodically  or  regularly, 
scourge  man  or  beast  with  disease  in  one  locality,  while  another  one  is  al- 
most uniformly  exempt  from  these  attacks.  What  English  pathologist,  for 
example,  has  ever  assigned  a  physical  cause  which  would  answer,  quanti- 
tatively, as  a  criterion  to  decide  on  the  proportionable  prevalence  of  the 
same  malady  in  other  regions — or  the  existence  of  which  would  even  prove 
that  the  disease  existed  at  all — for  the  frequent  appearance  of  goitre  (bron- 
chocele)  among  the  inhabitants  of  Derbyshire,  and  the  comparative  exemp-" 
tion  from  it  of  the  inhabitants  of  contiguous  counties  ?*  The  theatres  of 
its  especial  visitation,  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  seem  to  be  equally  de- 
termined by  chance — though  undoubtedly  dependent  upon  physical  causes 
which  have  as  yet  eluded  observation. 

It  is  not  astonishing,  therefore,  that  the  ignorant  down  to  our  own  times, 
and  even  the  enlightened,  until  a  period  comparatively  recent,  should  have 
sought  the  incomprehensible  causes  of  many  diseases,  in  the  regions  of  the 
preternatural.  Among  brutes  especially,  which  were  supposed  to  be  more 
given  up  to  such  influences,  these  phenomena  were  conveniently  assigned, 
by  our  English  and  Scotch  ancestors,  to 

"  some  dev'lish  cantrip  slight" 

of  "  warlocks  and  witches  " — the  malevolence  of  an  offended  fairy  or  spite- 
ful gnome.t 

*  I  understand  that  the  inhabitants  o£  the  adjoining  counties  of  Stafford,  Nottingham  and  Leicester  are 
comparatively  exempt  from  the  attack  of  goitre. 

*  In  Burns'a  inimitable  Tarn  O'Shanter,  some  of  the  singular  powers  once  exercised 

"by  withered  beldams  auld  and  droll 

****** 
Lowping  and  flinging  on  a  crummock"— 

and  sometimes,  thouch  far  more  rarely,  by  "  ae  winsome  wench  and  walie,"  to  turn  aside  the  established 
'aivB  of  Nature  and  God's  providence,  are  thus  enumerated  in  describing  one  of  the  diabolical  sisterhood  : 
"  Mony  a  beast  to  dead  she  shot, 
And  perished  mony  a  bonny  boat. 
And  shook  baith  meikle  corn  and  bear, 
And  kept  the  country-side  in  fear." 

No  one  will  understand  that  the  witch,  in  full  league  with  the  Devi!,  had  any  occasion  for  mortal  fire- 
«rins,  in  "  shooting"  the  beasts  of  her  victims.  Murrain,  and  in  some  cases  death,  followed  a  glance  of  her 
"  evil  eye."  And  even  the  witches  of  Burns  are  tame  every-day  bodies,  compared  with  those  which  swell 
the  infernal  dramatis  persona  of  Faust,  or  mingle  in  the  gloomy  horrors  of  Macbeth. 

Two  centuries  ago,  and  even  lees,  there  was  not  a  parish  in  England,  a  hill  or  dell  in  Scotland,  or  even  p 
colonized  nook  in  the  wild  woods  of  America,  where  witchcraft  was  not  rife  ;  and  multitudes  in  every  rank 
la  life  were  consigned  to  the  ga.lows,  the  faggot,  strangling.  &c.f  for  thia  crime,  by  the  highest  judicial  trt 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  221 


Equally  unphilosophical,  and  not  less  mischievous  in  its  effects  on  the 
progress  of  medical  science,  are  those  religious  views,  widely  prevalent 
even  at  the  present  day,  which  in  every  epizootic  as  well  as  epidemic 
scourge,  recognize  only  a  direct  Theocratic  infliction,  operating  without 
ihe  intervention  of  physical  causes.  If  these  doctrines  do  not,  as  when 
carried  to  their  full  extent  among  the  Mussulmans — who  yield  a  passive 
non-resistance  to  plague  and  conflagration  as  the  direct  expression  of  God's 
will — lead  to  an  entire  abandonment  of  remedial  measures,  they  at  least 
deter  scrutiny  into  the  inducing  natural  causes,  and  thus  occasion  a  neglect 
*  of  all  preventive,  and  a  much  less  perfect  understanding  of  appropriate 
•remedial  action. 

Between  countries  widely  separated — where  their  climates  and  other 
circumstances  exhibit  considerable  differences — it  would  naturally  be  ex- 
pected that  still  greater  discrepancies  would  appear  in  their  local  nosology. 
England  and  the  United  States  are  subject  to  several  corresponding  ovine 
diseases,  yet  it  is  notorious  that  some  of  the  most  destructive  ones  of  the 
former  are  unknown,  or  next  to  unknown,  in  the  latter.  The  rot,  accord- 
ing to  Mr.  Youatt,  destroys  a  million  of  sheep  annually  in  the  British  Isl- 

bunals  of  England  and  Scotland — the  former  presided  over  by  such  men  as  Sir  Matthew  Hale  1  One  ap- 
proved method  of  detecting  witches  was  to  wrap  the  suspected  persons  in  a  sheet,  the  great  toes  and  thumbs 
being  tied  together,  and  then  dragging  them  through  a  pond  or  river.  If  they  sank  they  were  guiltless— if 
not,  their  fate  is  thus  alluded  to  by  Hudibras  in  his  description  of  the  monster  Hopkins,  the  "  Witch-finder 
General"  of  England: 

"  And  has  he  not  within  a  year 

Hanged  threescore  of  them  in  one  shire  ? 

Some  only  for  not  being  drowned .' " 

That  miserable  driveler  and  pedant,  James  VI.  of  Scotland,  defended  this  "trial  by  water,"  inasmuch  aa 
witches  having  renounced  their  baptism,  so  it  is  just  that  the  element  through  which  the  holy  rite  is  enforced, 
should  reject  them  i  This  pusillanimous  monarch,  who  shook  at  the  sight  of  a  drawn  sicord,  was  the  keenest 
instigator  in  his  kingdom  of  tortures  and  prosecutions  for  suspected  witchcraft,  and  he  continued  so  after 
his  accession  to  the  English  throne.  He  was  often  present  at  the  examination  of  accused  persons,  and  the 
Scotch  juries  did  not  dare  to  acquit  their  victims,  fearing  the  severest  punishment  on  themselves  for  "  will 
ful  error  upon  an  assize,"  a  proceeding  which  left  them  at  the  mercy  of  the  Crown,  and  which  was  in  some 
instances  actually  resorted  to  ! 

The  elves  or  fairies,  the  dwarfs,  etc.,  have  sorely  afflicted  the  shepherd,  as  well  as  all  other  husbandmen, 
in  bygone  days.  Their  caprices  were  innumerable.  Even  in  this,  as  Mr.  Carlyle  would  say,  19lh  century 
of  God's  world,  the  ugly  and  monster-headed  Phaam  is  sometimes  seen  on  the  lonely  Kells  of  Galloway, 
and  the  declivities  of  the  eastern  Grampians.  He  not  unfrequently  shows  himself  in  the  dawn  of  the  morn- 
ing on  the  mountains  around  Cairn  Gorm  and  Lochavin,  and  if  man  or  beast  even  goes  near  the  place  where 
he  has  been  before  the  sun  shines  upon  it,  straightway  their  heads  swell  enormously  and  they  often  die.— 
This  is  the  origin  of  that  frequent  disease,  the  "swelled  head"  in  sheep  !  At  least,  so  the  inhabitants  of 
those  regions  informed  the  Ettrick  Shepherd.  (See  Hogg's  Shepherd's  Guide.)  But  alas  I  for  the  gay  and 
courtly  Fairies — the  very  aristocracy  of  goblin-dom  !  Who  would  not  have  his  flocks,  yea,  and  his  herds 
too,  annually  decimated  to  restore  them  to  our  utilitarianized  world !  Oberon,  Titania,  Mab,  Puck  and  Ariel 
are  gone  !  They  no  longer 

"  on  the  sands  with  printless  foot 

Do  chase  the  ebbing  Neptune,  and  do  fly  him 

When  he  comes  back" 

no  longer 

"  in  the  spiced  Indian  air,  by  night, 

*  *  *  *  * 

They  dance  then*  ringlets  to  the  whistling  wind." 

The  elves  of  the  colder  regions  north  of  the  Alps,  who  erst  danced  their  "  roundel  rites"  on  the  banks  of 
the  Rhine  and  the  green  hillocks  of  Britain — who  with  their  splendid  appointments,  coursers  whose  feet 
•purned  the  limber  air,  saddles  of  '•  rewel  bone  " 


"Bryht  with  mony  a  precious  stone 
And  compasyd  all  with  crapste," 


outshone  the  splendors  of  Chivalry — who  fought  manful  under  shield,  wounding  and  discomfiting  even  hu- 
man antagonists,  as  related  by  Gervase  of  Tilbury,  and  by  Heinrich  von  Ofterdingen  in  the  Heldenbuch — 
who  loved,  wooed  and  were  won  much  after  the  human  fashion,  and  sometimes  exchanged  such  favor* 
with  humanity,  as  is  proved  by  the  adventure  of  Thomas  the  Rymer  under  the  "  Elden  tree  " — all  are  gone! 
The  trands  of  Scott  and  of  Bulwer  could  not  stay  their  departure  !  Naked,  rugged-featured,  unpoetical 
Utility  has  it  all  her  own  way  now-a-days  f 

In  the  language  of  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Corbett,  Bishop  of  Oxford  and  Norwich  ia  the  beginning  of  the  17ft 
•fntury, 

"  Lament,  lament,  old  abbeys, 

The  Fairies'  lost  command  ; 
They  did  but  change  priests'  babies. 
But  some  have  changed  your  land  ; 
And  all  your  children  sprung  from  hence 

Are  now  grown  Puritans, 
Who  live  as  changelings  ever  since 
For  love  of  your  domains." 


222  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

ands — and  in  1830-1,  the  number  swept  off  much  exceeded  two  millions.* 
Its  ravages  are  equally  fatal  in  Germany,  and  more  so  in  Egypt.  It  is 
also  common  in  France,  Spain,  Australia,  &c.  There  is  nothing  sufficient- 
ly marked  in  its  diagnosis  to  effectually  distinguish  it  from  some  other  dis- 
eases, to  a  person  possessing  no  previous  practical  acquaintance  with  it, 
or  no  more  veterinary  knowledge  than  is  common  among  farmers ;  and 
when  a  slow  train  of  wasting  symptoms  have  occurred,  and  the  structure 
of  the  liver  is  found  disorganized,  after  death,  it  is  not  uncommon  in  this 
country  to  pronounce  it  a  case  of  the  rot.  The  same  mistake,  according 
to  Dr.  Coventry  (late  Professor  of  Agriculture  in  the  University  of  Edin- 
burgh), is  often  made  by  even  the  shepherds  and  flock-masters  of  Europe.t 
There  are  other  diseases  besides  the  rot  which  specifically  attack  the  in- 
tegrity of  the  liver.  Even  fasciola  or  flukes  in  the  liver,  the  most  infalli- 
ble diagnostic,  to  the  common  eye,  of  the  rot,  also,  according  to  Dr.  Cov- 
entry, accompany  hepatitis  chronica.  I  will  not  take  upon  me  to  deny  that 
;he  rot  ever  exists  in  the  Northern  States,  but  I  have  yet  to  see,  or  hear 
of,  adequately  authenticated,  the  first  undoubted  instance  ;  and  this  would 
go  to  show  that  if  isolated  cases  of  it  do  sometimes  occur,  it  has  dwindled 
from  the  wholesale  destroyer  of  Europe  to  an  obscure  and  occasional  dis- 
ease. The  same  remarks  apply  to  existence  of  the  disease  in  the  Southern 
Atlantic  and  Gulf  States,  judging  from  the  statements  of  my  correspond- 
ents, and  from  the  agricultural  newspapers.  I  cannot  learn  from  either 
of  these  sources  that  anything  analogous  to  this  malady  is  common  in  those 
States.  According  to  Mr.  Cockerel,  of  Tennessee,  and  Mr.  Flower,  of  Illi- 
nois, the  rot  docs  prevail  in  our  Western  States ;  and  the  latter  gentleman, 
who  has,  I  presume,  seen  the  disease  in  Europe,  and  who  ought  therefore 
to  be  familiar  with  its  pr<z-mortcm  and  post-mortem  appearances,  states 
that  it  occurs  in  Southern  Illinois  "  from  suffering  sheep  to  pasture  on  land 
that  is  overflowed  with  water ;"  and  he  adds,  "  even  a  crop  of  green  oats, 
early  in  the  fall  before  a  frost  comes,  has  been  known  to  rot  young  sheep.'* 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  Mr.  Livingston — equally  distinguished  for 
research  and  observation — does  not  include  the  rot  in  his  list  of  American 
ovine  diseases.  This  affords  a  strong  corroboration  of  the  position  I  have 
assumed  in  relation  to  the  existence  of  this  disease  in  the  North-eastern 
States,  and  those  of  the  Southern  ones  lying  east  of  the  Apalachians.J 

The  Hoof-ail,  though  introduced  here  by  contagion,  and  kept  in  constant 
existence  by  the  same  means,  does  not  appear,  in  the  common  phrase,  to 
originate  spontaneously,  as  in  Europe  ;  or,  in  other  words,  to  be  excited  by 
any  other  causes  than  contagion.  I  have  never  known  an  instance  going, 
eren  colorably,  to  prove  the  contrary  of  this  proposition. 

Acute  dropsy  or  Red-water,  I  judge  to  be  an  exceedingly  rare  disease  in 
the  Northern  States,  though  the  author  of  the  American  Shepherd  thinks 
differently.|| 

Enteretis,  or  inflammation  of  the  coats  of  the  intestines ;  blain,  or  in- 
flammation of  the  cellular  tissue  of  the  tongue  ;  and  a  whole  train  of  other 
diseases — including  most  of  the  frightful  list  of  infectious  or  contagious 
European  epizootics — seem  to  be  unknown  in  this  country. 

Why  there  should  be  so  wide  a  difference  between  the  ovine  nosology 
of  Europe  and  the  United  States,  is  a  matter  of  curious  and  interesting 
speculation.  Whether  it  will  always  remain  so,  or  whether  the  advent  of 

*  Youatt  on  Sheep,  p.  445. 

t  See  remarks  of  Dr.  Coventry,  quoted  at  some  length  in  Mountain  Shepherd's  Manual,  p.  20. 

{  I  limit  the  remark  to  the  States  lying  (mostly)  east  of  these  mountains,  because  they  would  probably 
oe  the  only  ones,  at  the  time  at  which  Mr.  Livingston  wrote,  with  the  Sheep  Husbandry  of  which  he  would 
DC  supposed  to  be  familiar. 

U  American  Shepherd,  p.  359. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUT  I. 


the  European  diseases  is  only  delayed  here  for  more  artificial  systems  of 
feeding,  breeding,  or  perhaps  more  artificial  systems  of  Agriculture  af- 
fecting the  aliment  of  the  sheep,  or  other  and  unexplainable  causes,  time 
alone  must  determine. 

If  we  look  for  these  differences  in  the  observable  differences  of  climate, 
we  find  no  satisfactory  solution  of  the  problem.  The  climate  of  England 
is  essentially  different  from  our  own — but  that  it  is  a  favorable  one  for  the 
aealthy  development  of  all  the  animal  tissues,  her  large,  strong,  long- 
lived  population,  as  well  as  her  well-developed  animal  kingdom,  abun- 
dantly attest.  The  atmosphere  of  England  is  a  moist  and  humid  one,  and 
moisture  is  thought  to  be  one  of  the  necessary  predisposing  causes  of  both 
rot  and  hoof-ail.  Of  the  origin  of  the  former  disease,  Mr.  Youatt 
remarks :  * 

"  The  rot  in  sheep  is  evidently  connected  with  the  soil  or  state  of  the  pasture.  It  is  con- 
fined  to  wet  seasons,  or  to  the  feeding  on  ground  moist  and  marshy  at  all  seasons.  It  has 
reference  to  the  evaporation  of  water,  and  to  the  presence  and  decomposition  of  moist  veget- 
able matter.  It  is  rarely,  or  almost  never,  on  dry  and  sandy  soils  and  in  dry  seasons ;  it  is 
rarely  wanting  on  boggy  or  poachy  ground,  except  when  that  ground  is  dried  by  the  heat  of 
the  summer  sun,  or  completely  covered  by  the  winter  rain.  In  the  same  farm  there  are  cer- 
tain fields  on  which  no  sheep  can  be  turned  with  impunity.  There  are  others  that  seldom 
or  never  give  the  rot." 

Mr.  Youatt  continues  his  descriptions  of  these  predisposing  conditions 
at  great  length,  and  his  final  conclusion  is,  in  substance,  that  the  miasmata, 
or  gases  exhaling  from  the  decomposition  of  vegetable  substances,  are  the 
causes  of  the  rot.  Mr.  Spooner  adopts  the  same  views ;  indeed,  they  are 
universally  received  among  scientific  veterinarians. 

If  these  views  are  correct,  the  evil  lies  not  in  a  generally  humid  atmo- 
sphere, but  in  a  generally  or  temporarily  humid  soil ;  and  that  they  are 
true  quo  ad  hoc,  is  proved  by  the  fearful  ravages  of  the  disease  in  the 
driest  atmosphere  of  Germany,  in  the  clear,  dry  atmosphere  of  the  South 
?f  France,  and  under  the  torrid  skies  of  southern  Spain,^where  rain  does 
not  fall  for  months. 

Boggy  or  fenny  soils,  where  decaying  vegetable  substances  are  con 
stantly  exhaling  their  gases,  are  to  be  found  in  all  parts  of  the  United 
States — more  or  less,  in  every  township,  and  almost  every  school  district 
of  New-York  and  New-England.  Sheep  pasture  on  such  lands,  promis- 
cuously with  other  stock,  in  every  county — and,  in  the  latter  States,  at 
least,  with  entire  impunity  from  the  rot. 

Humidity  of  soil  is  also  supposed  to  be  the  most  prominent  cause  in 
originating  hoof-ail,  or  producing  it  otherwise  than  by  contagion.  Mr. 
Youatt  and  Professor  Dick  attribute  the  disease  most  often  to  the  effect 
of  sand  and  dirt  forced  into  the  pores  of  the  hoof,  when  macerated  by 
moisture.  The  following  is  the  language  of  Professor  Dick: 

"  The  finest  and  richest  old  pastures  and  lawns  are  particularly  liable  to  give  this  disease, 
and  so  are  soft,  marshy  and  luxuriant  meadows.  It  exists  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  in  every 
situation  that  has  a  tendency  to  increase  the  growth  of  the  hoofs  without  wearing  them 

away The  different  parts  of  the  hoof,  deprived  of  their  natural  wear,  grow  out  of 

their  proper  proportions.  The  crust,  especially,  grows  too  long ;  and  the  overgrown  parts 
either  break  off  in  irregular  rents,  or  by  overshooting  the  sole  allow  small  particles  of  sand 
and  dirt  to  enter  into  the  pores  of  the  hoof.  These  particles  soon  reach  the  quick,  and  set 
up  the  inflammation  already  described  and  followed  by  all  its  destructive  effects."  t 

The  same  writer  assigns  another  cause  for  it — inflammation  induced  by 
an -improper  bearing  of  the  foot,  caused  by  the  unnatural  growth  of  the  horn 
on  wet  pastures. 

Mr.  Spooner  attributes  the  disease  to  decaying  vegetables — "  roots  and 

*  Youatt  on  Sheep,  p.  451.  f  See  Dick,  quoted  by  Youatt,  p.  527,  52a 


224, 

*- * 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


leaves  of  the  grasses  in  a  state  of  rottenness  " — brought  in  contact  with  the 
sheep's  foot  when  "  blanched  and  weakened  by  continual  moisture  !  "  * 

There  is  another  point  of  difference  in  the  pathology  of  ovine  diseases 
in  this  and  the  old  world,  judging  from  the  details  furnished  by  the  Eng- 
lish veterinarians.  Most  of  the  pyrexial  diseases,  in  England,  are  accom- 
panied, at  least  in  their  initiatory  stages,  with  active  inflammatory  symp- 
toms. Fever  runs  high,  and  decidedly  antiphlogistic  treatment  is  called 
for.  On  the  other  hand,  so  far.  as  my  observation  and  inquiries  have  ex- 
tended, the  ovine  diseases  of  the  United  States  are  usually  of  an  asthenic 
nature — characterized  by  debility  from  the  outset.  The  difference  in  the 
physical  character,  feeding,  and  ordinary  state  of  fatness  of  the  sheep  of 
the  two  countries,  offers,  perhaps,  a  sufficient  explanation  of  these  facts. 
The  gross,  high-fed  English  sheep,  forced  forward  by  bountiful  feeding  to 
an  unnaturally  precocious  maturity,  is  always  in  a  high  state  of  plethora, 
and  predisposed,  therefore,  to  inflammatory  action.  A  slight  derangement 
of  any  function,  produced  by  a  cold,  by  an  error  in  feeding,  or  by  any  other 
causes,  is  sufficient  to  make  the  organs  exercising  those  functions  the  seat  of 
such  action.  On  the  other  hand,  the  sheep  of  the  United  States,  kept  mainly 
for  wool-growing  purposes,  is  rarely  raised  above  a  moderately  fleshy  or 
medium  condition.  And,  unexcited  by  an  unnaturally  plethoric  habit,  the 
weak  vascular  and  muscular  system  of  the  animal  little  predisposes  it  to 
inflammatory  disease. 

A  difference  in  the  pathological  character  of  disease  requires  a  corre- 
sponding difference  in  the  system  of  therapeutics  adopted.  The  English 
system  of  therapeutics  is  decidedly  objectionable,  here,  first,  on  the  ac- 
count just  named ;  secondly,  from  its  expensiveness  ;  and,  thirdly,  (for 
popular  purposes,)  by  the  extent  and  complexity  of  its  pharmacology. 

1.  As  has  been   already  remarked,  most  of  the  English  ovine  diseases 
commence  with  pyrexiee — and  the  fever  is  synochal  or  inflammatory  in  its 
type.     The  subject  is  strong,  plethoric,  and  full  of  blood.     Antiphlogistic 
treatment  is  clearly  called  for.     Accordingly,  depletion,  by  bleeding  or 
purgatives,  or  both,  is  first  and  promptly  resorted  to  by  the  English  veteri- 
narian.    In  the  United  States,  also,  most  important  constitutional  diseases 
commence  with  pyrexiae,  but  the  fever  in  its  first  discovered  stage  is  almost 
uniformly  of  a  low,  sinking,  typhoid  type,  accompanied  with  great  pros- 
tration of  muscular  energy.     The  animal  is  in  a  leanish  or  only  moder 
ately  fleshy  condition.     It  has  been  confined  to  dry,  and  perhaps  rathei 
unnutritious  food — for  most  of  the  list  of  constitutional  maladies,  here, 
make  their  attacks  in  the  winter,  and  old,  lean,  and  feeble  sheep  are  usu- 
ally the   first  victims.     A  sheep  is  observed  drooping,  and  indifferent  to 
food.     It  is  caught  aiid  examined.     Whatever  organ  or  portion  of  the  sys- 
tem is  laboring  under   attack,  bleed  so  as  to  produce  a  constitutional  im- 
pression, (which  the  English  veterinarians  almost  invariably  recommend, 
where  they  recommend  bleeding  at  all,)   and  follow  this  with  an  active 
purgative,  and  in  four  cases  out  of  five  the  sheep  will,  in  the  expressive 
phrase   of  the  English  shepherds,  "  take   the  ground  " ;  it  will  never  rise 
from  the  ground  more  without  assistance,  and  will  soon  become  unable  to 
stand  when  set  upon  its  feet.     Growing  weaker  and  weaker,  it  soon  re- 
fuses to  eat,  and  death  supervenes.     These  remarks  are  not  designed  to 
apply  to  stall-fed  wethers,  or  other  very  high-conditioned  sheep. 

2.  The  English,  and  indeed  the  European  method  of  treating  diseases 
is  too  expensive  for  this  country.     In  curing  hoof-ail,  c.  g.,  Mr.  Youatt,  after 
recommending  washing  in  chloride  of  lime,  and  cauterizing,  says  : 

*  This  seems  to  ««;  a  most  unphilosophical  cause  to  be  assigned  by  a  veterinarian  of  the  standing  of  Mr 
Spooner. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


"  If  the  foot  has  been  in  a  manner  stripped  of  its  horn,  and  especially  if  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  the  sole  has  been  removed,  it  may  be  expedient  to  wrap  a  little  clean  tow  round 
the  foot,  and  to  bind  it  tightly  down  with  a  tape,  the  sheep  being  removed  to  a  straw-yard, 
or  some  inclosed  space,  or  to  a  drier  pasture  .....  The  foot  should  be  dressed  every  day, 
each  new  separation  of  horn  removed,  and  every  portion  of  the  fungus  submitted  to  the 
caustic.''  * 

Mr.  Spooner  recommends  daily,  and  not  less  troublesome  treatment.! 
The  Mountain  Shepherd's  Manual  recommends  daily  treatment,!  and  this 
is  the  case,  I  believe,  with  nearly  all,  if  not  all,  of  the  foreign  veterinarians. 
Professor  Pictet,  of  Switzerland,  in  addition  to  daily  applications,  fumiga- 
tions, etc.,  innumerable,  goes  a  step  beyond  "  tow  pledgets  and  tape  band- 
ages." He  says  : 

"  In  order  to  prevent  any  dirt,  &c.,  from  getting  into  the  wound,  the  diseased  foot  should 
be  placed  in  a  little  boot,  the  sole  of  which  is  of  leather  or  felt,  and  the  upper  part  of  cloth, 
in  order  to  fasten  it  round  the  leg  of  the  sheep." 

This  disease  rages  most  when  haying  and  harvesting  are  at  their  highl, 
in  the  Northern  States  —  in  July  and  August  —  and  when  the  labor  of  day 
hands  costs  from  seventy-five  cents  to  a  dollar  per  head  per  diem.  Half 
the  flocks  in  the  country  can  then  be  bought  for  $1  25  per  head.  How 
soon  daily  parings,  cauterizings,  embrocations,  fumigations,  etc.,  including 
the  expense  of  drugs  and  Professor  Pictet's  gaiter-boots,  would  reach  an 
expense  equivalent  to  the  price  of  a  sound  sheep,  it  requires  not  the  exer* 
cise  of  much  arithmetic  to  determine  !  It  would  certainly  be  more  eco- 
nomical to  kill  sheep  of  any  ordinary  grade  in  the  first  instance  ! 

The  same  remark  will  apply  to  the  English  system  of  treating  nearly 
all  important  diseases.  The  labor  bestowed  on  it  would  be  worth  more, 
here,  than  the  value  of  the  sheep. 

3.  The  English  ovine  veterinary  pharmacopoeia  is  too  extensive  and 
complex  for  popular  use.  The  prescribed  formulae  are  so  compound  in 
their  character  —  so  minute  oftentimes  in  their  quantitative  proportions  —  re- 
quire so  much  skill  for  their  chemical  and  mechanical  admixture  —  and, 
lastly,  and  more  important  than  all  the  rest,  they  demand  so  much  med- 
ical knowledge  for  their  proper  and  timely  administration  —  that  they  can 
be  generally  used  with  safety  and  advantage  only  by  professional  veteri- 
narians, a  class  entirely  wanting,  unless  occasionally  in  cities,  in  the  United 
States.  Besides,  our  ordinary  country  drug-stores  are  usually  lacking  in 
many  of  the  articles  included  in  the  European  prescriptions  ||  —  and  no  one, 
without  possessing  considerable  medical  knowledge,  could  decide  what 
effect  it  would  have  on  the  prescription  to  subtract  this  or  that  ingredient. 
It  might  neutralize  its  effects,  or  even  render  it  pernicious. 

A  veterinary  system  for  anything  like  popular  use,  in  this  country,  must 
be  exceedingly  simple  in  its  remedies,  and  in  its  rules  for  their  administra- 
tion. As  it  is  impossible  to  describe  the  various  symptoms  which  may 
exhibit  themselves  in  a  disease,  so  as  to  be  understood  by  all,  it  is  unsafe 
to  prescribe  a  constant  change  of  medicines,  applicable  to  the  several 
states  which  have  caused  those  symptoms  to  appear.  Indeed,  changes  in 
medicine  should  only  be  made  consequent  on  those  distinct  crises  of  dis- 
ease which  can  be  detected  and  understood  by  the  most  ordinary  observer. 
Prescriptions,  therefore,  inapplicable,  or  at  least  unsafe,  in  any  stage  from 
one  distinct  crisis  of  disease  to  another,  should,  as  far  as  practicable,  be 
avoided.  True,  such  a  system  of  therapeutics  will  be  very  imperfect,  par- 
ticularly in  the  treatment  of  serious  constitutional  maladies.  But  it  will  go 

*  Ybuatt,  p.  529.  f  Spooner,  (endorsing  the  views  of  Mr.  Read,)  p.  438  to  442. 

I  Quern  vide,  p.  27. 

\j  Not  unfrequently  the  most  important  ones,  as  I  know  from  repeated  experience. 

2F 


226  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

as  far  as  the  knowledge  of  the  uninstracted  practitioner  will  safely  admit 
of — and  if,  even  in  cases  of  constitutional  disease,  it  should  simply  cause 
him  to  do  no  hurt  by  Ms  interference,  and  prevent  him  from  resorting  tc 
some  miserably  ignorant  empiric* — the  most  important  object,  perhaps, 
would  be  attained.  It  is  infinitely  safer  in  such  diseases  to  rely  on  unaided 
Nature  to  effect  the  cure,  than  to  submit  a  sheep,  or  any  other  animal,  to 
the  drugging  and  dosing  of  a  person  ignorant  of  the  true  nature  of  the 
disease,  and  of  the  remedies  which  he  employs.  It  is  better  to  do  too  lit- 
tle than  to  do  too  muck;  and  in  all  cases  where  it  is  not  known  what  to  do, 
it  is  better  to  do  nothing. 

Lord  Western,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Bischoff,  says  :t 

"  I  have  little  to  say  on  the  medical  treatment  of  sheep ;  my  study  is  prevention  by  suffi- 
cient wholesome  food,  with  a  constant  and  abundant  supply  of  salt  in  every  yard  and  every 

field When  sheep  are  taken  ill,  there  is  little  hope  for  them,  and  rarely  any  use  in 

administering  medicines." 

If  the  latter  portion  of  this  remark  is  true  among  the  educated,  intelli 
gent  and  experienced  veterinarians  of  England,  how  much  more  must  it 
be  so  among  those  destitute  of  even  the  first  rudiments  of  veterinary  sci- 
ence !  In  relation  to  some  of  the  more  serious  constitutional  maladies,  af- 
ter considerable  experience  and  observation,  I  feel  constrained  to  express 
the  opinion  that  the  remark  is,  to  a  considerable  extent,  true.  The  sheep 
is  almost  as  unsatisfactory  a  patient  to  deal  with,  in  some  such  cases, 
as  the  hog,  of  which  it  is  frequently  said,  with  no  great  exaggeration, 
"  that  if  he  is  seriously  sick  he  is  sure  to  die,  and  the  more  you  do 
for  him  the  sooner  he  will  die  !  "  "  Then  why  give  a  therapeutic  system 
at  all  in  a  class  of  diseases  where  it  will  do  so  little  good  1"  In  the  first 
place,  the  cases  are  perhaps  few  where  judicious  prescriptions  will  not 
somewhat  diminish  the  tendency  to  a  fatal  result ;  but  the  great  reason, 
after  all,  is,  that  every  man  having  a  sick  animal  will  dose  and  physic  it, 
or  will  permit  some  officious  neighbor  to  do  so,  or  will  call  in  that  most 
dangerous  of  all  epizootics,  the  cattle-doctor.  It  is  therefore  better  in  the 
most  hopeless  cases,  to  give  a  few  simple  directions,  based  on  sound  med- 
ical principles,  which  will  not,  at  all  events,  aggravate  the  disease,  and 
which  will  tend  to  alleviate  or  suppress  it,  rather  than  to  surrender  the 
helpless  animal  over  to  the  additional  tortures  inflicted  by  ignorance  and 
quackery.  Fortunate  it  is  that  well-managed  sheep,  in  this  country,  are 
so  little  subject  to  such  diseases  ! 

In  classifying  diseases,  I  shall  depart  from  the  system  adopted  by  You- 
att,  Spooner,  etc.,  who  arrange  them  with  reference  to  the  parts  of  the  sys- 
tem they  more  especially  attack,  as,  for  example,  "  diseases  of  the  brain," 

*  The  self-matriculated  "  cattle  doctor  "  is  a  decidedly  interesting  personage.  His  qualifications  are  nu- 
merous, and  it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  find  them  all  brilliantly  combined  in  the  same  person.  He  should 
be  the  most  ignorant  man  in  the  town,  particularly  in  everything  relating  to  the  anatomy  and  physiology 
of  man  or  beast.  He  should  be  equally  ignorant  of  the  chemical  and  medicinal  properties  of  nearly  all  the 
drugs  used  by  him.  His  prescriptions,  to  give  them  due  potency,  should  consist  of  a  great  number  of  in- 
gredients—a large  portion  of  them  bearing  very  "hard  names."  He  should  flank  and  fortify  these,  at  least 
in  all  difficult  cases,  with  substances  possessing  rare  occult  virtues,  entirely  unknown  to  "human  physi- 
cians," such  as  the  "  blood  of  black  cats,"  the  "  entrails  of  fowls,"  "  human  faeces,"  simples  culled  under  pe- 
culiar circumstances— 

"Root  of  hemlock,  digged  i'  the  dark, 

*  *  *  »  * 

*  *  *  slips  of  yew, 
Slivered  in  the  moon's  eclipse." 

He  should  decidedly  affect  the  mysterious,  and  should  always  repel  the  attempted  intrusions  of  ordinary 
humanity— the  profane  vulgar— into  the  arcana  of  his  high  art.  He  should  have  half  a  dozen  maladies,  such 
as"bakedinthemanyfolds,"  "  overflow  of  the  gall,"  "  kidney  disease,"  "rising  of  the  lights,  'strained 
across  the  loin,"  etc.,  to  which  he  can  promptly  assign  all  the  ills  which  beasts  are  heir  to.  He  should 
never  ndstake  a  disease  or  a  remedy.  If  the  patient  dies,  it  should  invariably  be  in  consequence  of  a 
deviation  from  his  directions  J 
»  Bischoff.  vol.  ii. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH,  227 

"  diseases  of  the  digestive  organs,"  &c.  This  method  of  classification, 
though  not  without  its  advantages,  and  though  it  would  seem,  at  first  view, 
to  present  an  arrangement  most  convenient  for  reference,  examination  and 
comparison,  in  the  end,  leads,  I  think,  to  confusion  and  misunderstanding 

ANATOMY  OF  THE  SHEEP. 

He  who  breeds  sheep  to  any  considerable  extent,  should  make  himself 
familiar  with  the  anatomical  structure  of  some  of  the  parts  of  the  animal—- 
particularly with  the  arrangement,  size,  natural  appearance,  consistency 
and  contents  of  the  several  viscera ;  to  some  extent  with  the  circulatory 
system ;  with  the  alimentary  and  respiratory  organs ;  with  the  brain,  and 
the  whole  osseous  structure  of  the  head.  He  should  be  in  the  constant 
habit  of  making  more  or  less  extended  examinations  of  all  these  structures, 
as  opportunity  occurs  by  the  slaughter  of  sheep  for  economic  purposes ; 
and  when-  the  animal  dies  from  disease,  such  examination  should  be  in  no 
ordinary  case  omitted  by  the  flock-master  who  is  desirous  of  making  him- 
self  thoroughly  acquainted  ivith  his  business.  He  will  require  some  instruc- 
tion, in  the  outset,  to  enable  him  to  make  such  dissections  understandingly 
and  properly ;  but  he  can  readily  obtain  this  from  any  educated  physician1 
or  surgeon.  There  are  no  sufficiently  wide  differences  in  the  anatomical 
structure  of  the  sheep  and  of  the  human  being,  to  give  the  surgeon  the- 
least  difficulty  in  pointing  out  the  arrangement,  uses,  &c.,  of  the  several 
parts  of  the  former,  unless  it  be  in  the  conformation  of  the  stomachs. — 
jrlere,  the  structure  of  the  sheep,  like  that  of  other  ruminating  animals,  dif- 
fers widely  from  man,  but  that  physician  or  surgeon  must  have  been  singu- 
larly limited  in  his  physiological  investigations,  who  has  not  made  himself" 
acquainted  with  it.  At  all  events,  a  glance  at  a  veterinary  work,  while, 
conducting  a  dissection,  will  enable  him  to  understand,  and  explain  it  to- 
the  learner.  The  learner  while  making  his  examinations  in  company  with, 
and  under  the  direction  of  the  surgeon,  should  perform  every  manipulation  : 
his  own  hand  should  handle,  remove,  test  the  consistency,  &c.  of  the  parts, 
— alone  wield  the  saw  and  guide  the  scalpel.  This  is  an  important  rule  if 
he  would  understand  and  remember. 

The  subjects  of  a  portion  of  the  examinations  should  be  sheep  killed  ini 
full  health.  It  is  necessary  to  be  familiar  with  the  healthy  appearance  of" 
all  the  parts,  so  as  to  distinctly  recognize  all  departures  from  it — the  effect 
of  any  diseased  or  abnormal  action. 

The  sides  of  a  lean  sheep  are  more  translucent,  after  being  skinned,  than; 
those  of  a  fat  one,  and  therefore  the  former  makes  a  better  subject,  if  the 
circulatory  system  is  to  be  examined.  On  the  sides  of  the  thorax  and  ab- 
domen, at  a  little  distance  from  the  spine,  the  veins  and  arteries  of  those* 
parts  can  often  be  traced  with  beautiful  distinctness,  without  any  dissection: 
of  the  intercostal  muscles. 

Subjects  should  be  examined  which  have  had  their  blood  drawn  (by  hav- 
ing their  throats  cut),  and  also  those  which  have  died  with  all  their  blood' 
in  them.  Some  of  the  viscera — e.  g.  the  lungs,  veins  and  arteries — will: 
present  very  different  appearances  under  these  different  circumstances ;. 
and  this  fact  not  understood  might  frequently  lead  to  very  erroneous  con- 
clusions in  post  mortem  examinations. 

I  will  give  a  very  general  description  of  the  parts  I  have  mentioned  as 
necessary  to  be  studied — designed  merely  for  those  who  have  no  previous 
krowledge  of  the  subject. 

After  the  animal  has  been  neatly  skinned,  place  it  on  a  low  table,  an  as- 
tistant  grasping  its  fore-legs,  and  folding  it  firmly  on  its  back.  Then  slit 


228 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


open  the  belly  from  the  middle  of  the  sternum,  or  cartilaginous  connectior 
between  the  ribs,  to  the  anus.  In  making  this  and  all  similar  incisions, 
hold  the  edge  of  the  knife  upward,  guarding  its  point  with  the  fore-finger, 
so  that  the  viscera  shall  not  be  wounded.  The  abdomen — the  whole  cav- 
ity of  the  trunk  back  of  the  diaphragm  or  "  midriff" — is  now  laid  open. 
It  is  usually  necessary  for  a  better  examination  of  the  parts  to  make  cross 
incisions  part  way  between  the  diaphragm  and  anus,  extending  down  on 
each  side  several  inches  toward  the  backbone. 

I  shall  describe  the  viscera  in  the  order  in  which  I  have  usually  exam- 
ined them. 

On  opening  the  abdomen  the  omentum  or  caul  is  found  covering  the  in- 
testines. It  is  a  thin,  and,  in  a  normal  state,  colorless  and  transparent 
structure,  formed  of  two  membranes,  between  which  extend  streaks  of  fat 
iii  the  form  of  a  net. 

The  external  appearance  of  the  stomachs  is  given  in  the  following  cut 
of  those  of  a  young  sheep  which  died  of  disease.  Their  arrangement  ia 
slightly  different  in  the  animal. 

Fie.  47. 


THE  STOMACHS. 

•a.  The  oesophagus  or  gullet,  entering  the  rumen  or  paunch. 

b.  b.  The  rumen,  or  paunch,  occupying  three-fourths  of  the  abdomen. 

e.  The  reticulum,  or  honey-comb — the  Od  stomach. 
d.  The  maniplus,  or  many  folds— the  3d  etomach. 

f.  The  abomasum,  or  4th  stomach. 

/.  The  commencement  of  the  duodenum  or  first  intestine. 

g.  The  place  of  the  pylorus,  a  valve  which  separates  the  contents  of  the  abomasum  and  duodenum. 

The  walls  of  the  rumen  or  paunch  consist  of  four  coats  or  tunics — 1st, 
the  peritoneal  or  outer  coat ;  2d,  the  muscular ;  3d,  the  mucous,  covered 
with  papillee,  or  little  protuberances,  from  which  (or  glands  under  which) 
is  secreted  a  peculiar  fluid  to  soften  and  prepare  the  food  for  re-mastica- 
lion  ;  and,  4th,  the  inner  or  cuticular  coat,  a  thin,  entirely  insensible  mem- 
brane, which  defends  the  mucous  coat  from  abrasion  or  erosion. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  229 


The  reticulum  or  honey-comb  is  composed  of  the  same  number  of  coats 
fulfilling  similar  functions.  But  the  mucous  coat,  in  addition  to  minute 
papillae,  is  covered  with  elevations  arranged  in  pentagons  and  sexagona 
of  different  sizes,  somewhat  resembling  a  honey-comb,  except  that  the 
cells  are  larger  and  shallower. 

The  maniplus  has  the  same  four  coats.  Its  floor  is  a  continuation  of 
the  cesophagean  canal.  From  its  roof  depend  many  parallel  folds  of  the 
cuticular  coat — here  thicker  and  stronger  than  in  the  other  stomachs- 
reaching  nearly  to  its  floor.  The  cuticle  is  covered  toward  the  edges  of 
the  folds,  with  hard,  bony  processes,  shaped  like  fangs,  or  cones  bent  in  a 
curvelinear  form,  and  pointing  toward  the  entrance  of  the  stomach.  The 
interior  of  each  fold  or  leaf  contains  muscles  which  impart  to  it  the  power 
of  a  peculiar  and  forcible  motion.  There  are  forty-two  of  these  folds  in 
the  maniplus  of  the  sheep— occasionally  forty-eight.  They  do  not  all 
equally  nearly  approach  the  cesophagean  canal,  but  are  disposed  in  groups 
Of  six — one  of  the  central  ones  of  each  nearly  reaching  the  canal  or  floor 
o/  the  stomach — the  others  on  each  side  growing  shorter  and  shorter,  so 
as  to  form  a  series  of  irregular  reentering  angles. 

The  abomasum  is  the  digesting  stomach,  where  the  gastric  juices  are 
secreted,  and  where  the  pultaceous  food  is  converted  into  chyme.  It  is 
funnel-shaped,  and  its  lower  extremity  connects  with  the  intestines,  as 
shown  in  the  cut.  The  cuticular  lining  of  the  three  preceding  stomachs 
is  wanting  in  this.  The  mucous  coat  is  disposed  in  the  form  of  ruga  or 
shallow  folds,  arranged  longitudinally  with  the  direction  of  the  stomach, 
and  from  this  membrane  the  gastric  juices  are  secreted. 

The  comparative  size  of  the  four  stomachs  will  be  sufficiently  seen  in 
fig.  47. 

Where  the  oesophagus  enters  the  rumen,  it  terminates  in  what  is  called 
the  cesophagean  canal,  a  continuation  of  the  former  constituting  the  roof 
of  the  latter.  The  bottom  or  floor  of  this  canal  is  formed  of  divided  por- 
tions or  folds  of  the  upper  parts  of  the  rumen  and  reticulum — muscular 
"  pillars"  or  "lips,"  as  they  are  sometimes  denominated — which  may  re- 
main closed  so  that  the  food  will  pass  over  them  into  the  third  and  fourth 
stomachs — or  they  may  open,  permitting  the  food  to  fall  between  them, 
as  through  a  trap-door,  into  the  first  and  second  stomachs.  It  is  probable 
that  the  opening  of  these  lips,  as  food  passes  over  them,  depends,  some- 
what upon  a  mechanical  effect,  and  somewhat  upon  the  will  of  the  animal. 
Fluid  and  soft  pultaceous  food  fit  for  immediate  digestion  glide  over  them. 
But  most  of  the  food  of  the  sheep,  like  that  of  other  ruminating  animals, 
is  swallowed  with  little  preparatory  mastication ;  and  these  untriturated 
solids  drop  down  through  the  first  opening  above  described  inti  the  ru- 
men. It  is  certain,  however,  that  the  animal  can,  at  will,  also  cause  water 
to  pass  through  the  opening  into  the  first  stomach.  This  would  be  neces- 
sary in  the  animal  economy,  and  the  water  is  always  found  there. 

When  the  food  has  entered  the  rumen,  the  muscular  action  of  that  vis- 
cus  compels  it  to  make  the  circuit  of  its  different  compartments,  and,  in 
time,  the  food  later  swallowed  forces  it  on  and  up  to  near  the  opening 
where  it  originally  entered.  In  ils  passage  it  is  macerated  by  a  solvent 
alkaline  fluid  secreted  by  the  mucous  coat.  The  papillae  of  that  coat  are 
supposed  to  influence  the  mechanical  action  of  the  contents  of  the  stomach, 
and  perhaps,  to  a  certain  extent,  to  aid  in  triturating  them.  The  food 
performs  the  circuit  of  the  stomach,  and  is  ready  for  re-mastication^  ac- 
cording to  Spallanzani,  in  from  sixteen  to  eighteen  hours.  By  a  muscular 
effort  of  the  stomach,  a  portion  of  it  is  then  thrown  over  the  membraneous 
valve  or  fold  which  guards  the  opening  from  this  into  the  second  stomach 


-30  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

The  reticulum  contracts  upon  it,  forming  it  into  a  suitable  pellet  to  be  re- 
turned to  the  mouth,  and  also  covers  it  with  a  mucus  secreted  in  this 
stomach.  By  a  spasmodic  effort  (always  perceptible  externally  when  the 
sheep  or  cow  commences  rumination)  the  pellet  is  forced  through  the  roof 
of  the  reticulum,  by  the  opening  before  described,  and  returned  to  the 
mouth  by  the  contractions  of  the  spiral  muscle  of  the  oesophagus  or  gullet, 
for  mastication. 

This  explanation  of  the  functions  of  the  second  stomach  is  not  accepted 
by  all  the  physiologists  who  have  examined  this  subject.  Some  contend 
that  all  the  solider  portions  of  the  food  are  returned  directly  from  the  ru- 
men for  re-mastication  ;  that  when  raised  to  the  floor  of  the  cesophagean 
canal,  the  hard  parts  are  carried  up  to  the  mouth — the  more  pultaceous 
ones  (but  still  not  sufficiently  pultaceous  for  the  fourth  stomach)  passing 
into  the  reticulum,  where  they  are  again  macerated — the  fluid  squeezed 
out  of  them  by  a  contraction  of  the  stomach  and  allowed  to  pass  on  to 
the  fourth  stomach — and  then  the  drier  parts  raised,  like  those  from  the 
paunch,  for  re-mastication.  More  solid  and  indigestible  substances  "  may 
be  submitted  two  or  more  times  to  the  process  of  rumination."  Such  ap- 
pear to  be  the  views  of  Mr.  Spooner.* 

According  to  this  theory,  both  stomachs  are  created  substantially  for 
one  and  the  same  purpose,  and  one  would  seem  to  be  unnecessary.  And 
where  would  be  the  use  of  the  opening  from  one  stomach  into  the  other  ] 
And  if  the  second  stomach,  like  the  first,  is  simply  for  the  maceration  and 
return  of  food,  why  the  superior  thickness  and  strength  of  the  coatings  of 
the  former  1  Being  of  a  volume  greatly  inferior  to  that  of  the  latter,  it  cer- 
tainly would  require  less  strength,  if  the  functions  of  both  were  the  same 

The  main  support  for  this,  as  it  seems  to  me,  erroneous  theory,  is  found 
in  the  fact  that  the  contents  of  the  reticulum,  after  death,  are  usually  found 
considerably  more  fluid  than  those  of  the  rumen.  I  conceive  that  but 
small  portions  of  solid  food  are  introduced  at  one  time  from  the  rumen 
into  the  reticulum — not  enough  to  give  to  the  liquid  contents  of  the  latter 
viscus  the  consistency  of  those  of  the  former — proceeding  on  the  supposi- 
tion that  the  reticulum  of  the  living  animal  is  filled  with  fluid,  as  usually 
found  after  death.  But  why  may  not  a  portion  of  this  fluid  have  escaped 
by  the  valve — been  decanted,  as  it  were,  from  the  paunch  to  the  reticulum, 
after  death  ?  I  see  no  violence  in  this  supposition.  If  this  is  not  so,  the 
uniform  fluidity  of  the  contents  of  the  reticulum  would  be,  it  seems  to  me, 
fatal  to  the  theory  based  on  it — for,  according  to  Spooner  and  others  who 
adopt  it,  after  the  reticulum  has  "  become  moderately  full,"  it  contracts  on 
its  contents,  expressing  the  liquid  from  the  solid  parts,  which  said  liquid 
is  forced  into  the  oesophagean  canal,  and  escapes  into  the  fourth  stomach. 
The  solid  parts  would  be  thus  left  comparatively  dry.  Sheep  penned  up  for 
butchery  often  do,  as  every  one  has  observed,  ruminate  until  within  a  few 
seconds  of  the  time  that  all  their  natural  visceral  functions  are  suddenly 
suspended  by  death — and  when,  therefore,  this  suspension  would,  at  times, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  take  place  at  all  the  different  stages  of  rumination  and 
preparation  for  rumination — how  happens  it  that  the  reticulum  is  not  often 
found  with  its  liquid  parts  expressed — containing  nothing  but  the  solids,  just 
prepared  for  re-mastication  ?  Or  if  it  be  supposed  that  the  act  of  forcing  out 
the  li  juid,  and  forcing  up  the  solids  into  the  oesophagus,  are  coincident  or 
simultaneous,  why  is  not  this  stomach  sometimes  found  entirely  empty  ?  Can 
it  be  supposed  that  this  fluid  (I  have  uniformly  found  the  fluid  mixed  with 
considerable  quantities  of  the  solid  food)  is  so  instantaneously  re-supplied  1 

•  Spooner,  p.  162-3, 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  231 

If  so,  by  what  process  t  I  think  there  are  other  reasons  which  support 
the  view  I  have  taken,  but  I  will  not  push  the  discussion,  there  not  being, 
so  far  as  I  am  aware,  any  questions  to  be  solved  by  it  which  directly  and 
practically  affect  the  interests  or  the  practices  of  the  sheep-breeder. 

Let  us  now  observe  the  course  pursued  by  the  food,  and  the  process  to 
which  it  is  submitted,  after  rumination.  It  now  glides  oxer  the  trap-doors 
which  open  into  the  first  and  second  stomachs.  As  it  passes  over  the 
floor  of  the  third,  or  the  maniplus,  the  pendant  leaves  of  this  viscus.  armed 
with  their  beak-like  protuberances,  seize  the  advancing  mass,  and  squeezing 
out  the  fluid  and  the  more  finely  comminuted  portions  of  the  food  which 
escape  with  it,  commence  triturating  the  bulkier  fibrous  portions  between 
their  folds.  Their  bony  papillae  give  to  these  folds  something  of  the  me- 
chanical action  of  rasps,  in  grinding  down  the  vegetable  fibre.  The  food 
being  now  reduced  to  an  entirely  pultaceous  state,  passes  into  the  fourth' 
stomach,  or  abomasum,  where  it  is  acted  upon  by  the  gastric  juice,  and 
converted  into  chyme.  The  amount  of  food  found  between  the  folds  of 
the  maniplus,  after  death,  depends  upon  the  time  that  has  elapsed  since 
rumination.  It  is  dry  and  hard,  compared  with  the  contents  of  the  other 
stomachs.. 

The  entrance  to  the  fourth  stomach — the  cardiac  opening — is  closed 
against  re  gurgitation  or  vomiting,  by  a  sort  of  valve,  composed  of  a  portion 
of  one  of  the  rugce,  before  alluded  to,  which  line  the  interior  of  this 
stomach.^  The  pylorus  is  also  closed  by  a  valve,  which  prevents  a  prema- 
ture passage  of  the  contents  of  the  stomach  into  the  intestines. 

The  intestines  are  exhibited  in  fig.  48,  copied  from  Mr.  Youatt's  work. 

Before  the  duodenum  enters  into  (or  changes  its  name  to)  the  jejunum, 
and  about  18  inches  from  the  pylorus,  it  is  perforated  by  the  biliary  duct — 
ductus  clwledoclius — which  brings  the  bile  eliminated  by  the  liver,  from  the 
gall-bladder,  and  also  the  fluid  which  is  secreted  by  the  pancreas,  or  sweet- 
bread, which  last  is  introduced  into  the  biliary  duct  two  inches  from  its 
entrance  into  the  duodenum,  by  another  duct  or  small  tube.  The  com- 
pound fluid  thus  introduced  into  the  duodenum  exercises  various  important 
offices  in  the  digestive  and  assimilating  processes.  The  bile  is  supposed 
to  aid  in  the  separation  of  the  chyme  into  chyle  and  fecal  matter — or  the 
nutritive  parts  of  the  food  which  are  assimilated  into  blood,  from  the  in- 
nutritious  parts  which  are  discharged  as  excrement.  It  also  prevents  a 
putrid  decomposition  of  the  vegetable  contents  of  the  intestines,  and  serves 
various  other  useful  purposes. 

The  chyle — a  white  albuminous  fluid,  with  a  composition  differing  but 
little  from  that  of  blood — is  taken  from  the  intestines  by  a  multitude  of 
minute  ducts  called  lacteals,  which  traverse  the  mesentary,  constantly 
uniting  as  they  advance,  so  as  to  form  larger  ducts.  These  enter  the 
mesenteric  glands — small  glandular  bodies  attached  to  the  mesentary — after 
the  passage  of  which  the  chyle  begins  to  change  its  color.  The  lacteals 
still  continue  to  unite  and  enlarge,  and  finally  terminate  in  the  thoracic 
duct.  In  this  the.chyle  is  mingled  with  the  lymph  secreted  from  a  portion 
of  the  lymphatics — another  exceedingly  minute  system  of  absorbent  ducts, 
which  open  on  the  internal  and  external  surfaces  of  the  whole  system. 
From  the  thoracic  duct,  the  chyle  is  conveyed  to  the  heart,  and  enters  into 
the  circulation  as  blood. 


THE  SPLEEN. — With  the  appearance  of  the  spleen  or  milt — in  the  sneep 
a  dark,  firm,  spongy  viscus,  attached  to  the  rumen,  and  lying  on  the  left 
Bide  of  the  belly — all  are  sufficiently  familiar.  Its  uses  and  functions  in 


SHEEP  HUSBANWJY  LN   THE  SOUTH. 


the  animal  oconomy  are  not  well  understood,  and  i,  has  in  some  instances 
boon  removed  from  the  living  animal  without  the  apparent  derangement 

Fig.  48. 


THE  INTESTINES  AND  MESENTARY. 

1    The  duodenum.  2.  The  jejunum.  3.  The  ileum. 

&  The  ceecum,  being  the  anterior  prolongation  of  the  colon,  or  first  large  intestine.    The  ileum  opena 
into  this  (on  the  back  side  as  presented  in  the  cut),  about  twelve  Inches  from  its  extremity — the 
opening  being  defended  by  a  valve. 
5   The  large  anterior  portion  of  the  colon,  retaining  its  size  (about  three  times  that  of  the  smaller  irtett- 

tines)  for  about  two  feet. 
R6.  The  colon  tending  toward  the  center. 
7.  ?.  The  returning  convolutions  of  the  colon. 

8.  The  rectum  or  straight  gut,  communicating  with  the  anus. 

3. 9.  The  mesentary,  or  that  portion  of  the  peritoneum  which  retains  the  intestines  in  their  places. 
10.  The  portion  of  the  mesentary  supporting  the  colon,  &.c. 
The  united  length  of  these  intestines  is  upward  of  sixty  feet ! 

of  any  function.     Mr.  Youatt  conjectures  that  its  main  office  is  to  supply 
the  coloring  matter  of  the  blood. 

THE  PANCREAS. — The  pancreas  or  sweet-bread,  with  the  appearance  of 
which  all  who  have  noticed  the  entrails  of  a  sheep,  are  also  familiar,  is  a 
glandular  body  found  on  the  left  side  of  the  belly.  It  has  a  series  of 
.ducts  which  unite  into  a  larger  one,  and,  as  before  stated,  this  discharges 
a  transparent,  albuminous,  and  somewhat  acid  fluid  into  the  biliary  duct 
near  the  point  where  it  enters  the  duodenum.  This  fluid  acts  some  un- 
known, but  probably  necessary  part  in  preparing  the  chyme  for  the  offices 
it  is  to  perform  in  the  animal  economy. 

THE  LIVER. — The  liver  is  much  larger  in  proportion,  in  the  sheep,  than 
«i  the  horse  and  ox  .  and  it  ia  twice  the  proportionate  size  of  that  of  Man 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  233 

It  is  situated  mostly  on  the  right  side,  between  the  maniplus  and  dia- 
phragm. It  is  supplied  with  arterial  blood,  and  receives  the  venous  blood 
which  is  conveyed  from  the  intestines,  from  which  it  separates  the  bile, 
and  conveys  it  to  the  gall-bladder.  The  bile  having  undergone  certain 
changes  in  this  bladder,  is  conveyed,  as  already  stated,  by  the  biliary  duct, 
to  the  duodenum.  The  venous  blood,  after  the  gall  is  separated  from  it, 
is  returned  to  the  lungs,  to  undergo  the  process  which  fits  it  again  to  en 
ter  into  the  circulation.  

THE  URINARY  AND  GENERATIVE  ORGANS. 

Though  it  might  seem  the  more  natural  order  to  complete  the  examina- 
jion  of  the  circulatory  and  respiratory  organs,  before  taking  up  those 
named  at  the  head  of  this  paragraph,  I  shall,  adhering  to  my  first  arrange- 
ment to  follow  the  order  which  I  have  uniformly  pursued  in  making  dis- 
sections, first  complete  the  description  of  those  of  the  abdominal  cavity. 

THE  KIDNEYS. — The  kidneys  are  two  bean-shaped  glands  firmly  attached 
to  the  roof  of  the  abdomen,  and  usually  imbedded  in  fat.  They  are  sup- 
plied with  blood  by  large  arteries,  and,  having  filtered  out  the  urine  from 
it,  they  discharge  the  latter  through  two  ducts,  termed  ureters,  into  the 
bladder.  The  passage  of  these  ducts  through  the  walls  of  the  latter  is  in 
an  oblique  course,  so  that  it  is  closed  by  pressure  from  within,  and  thus 
the  urine  cannot  return.  

THE  BLADDER.— -The  bladder  joins  the  urethra,  in  the  pelvis,  and  its  pos- 
terior part  is  attached  to  the  floor  of  that  cavity.  The  anterior  part,  where 
the  diameter  is  larger,  floats  free  in  the  abdomen.  A  circular  muscle  or 
sphincter  closes  the  entrance  into  the  urethra,  to  prevent  the  continuous 
escape  of  the  urine,  and  this  relaxes  when  the  muscular  coat  of  the  bladder 
contracts  for  the  periodical  expulsion  of  that  fluid.  The  urethra  is  but  a 
few  inches  long  in  the  ewe,  and  opens  into  the  vagina.  It  is  much  longer 
:ri  the  ram,  as  it  extends  the  whole  length  of  the  penis. 

THE  UTERUS  AND  VAGINA, — The  vagina  is  several  inches  in  length  and 
opens  into  the  uterus  or  womb  by  a  circular  opening  which  becomes  closed 
after  impregnation.  They  are  situated  between  the  rectum  above,  and  the 
bladder  below.  They  are  mostly  within  the  pelvis  in  the  unpregnant  ani- 
mal, but  the  womb  rises  into  the  abdomen  when  it  encloses  a  foetus.  The 
womb  is  a  cylindrical  body  with  two  "  horns  "  or  branches.  At  the  interioi 
extremity  of  each  horn  are  protuberances,  of  a  red  color,  called  ovarict 
which  are  supposed  to  contain  the  germs  of  the  offspring. 


234  JHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


LETTER  XV. 

ANAT0MY  OF  TiliS  3HEEP  (Continued)—  DISEASES  AND  THEIR  TREATMENT. 


The  Thoracic  Viscera...  Thd  Diaphragm...  The  Thorax  ...  The  Heart,  Arteries,  Capillaries,  and  Veins... 
The  Lungs...  The  Windpipe,  Larynx  and  Pharynx...  The  Thyroid  and  Parotid  Glands...  The  Head  and 
its  structures...  The  Brain.  ..The  Nerves.  ..The  Teeth.  ..The  Lower  Extremities.  ..The  Biflex  Canal... 
Febrile  diseases  —  those  of  Europe  which  are  not  common  here...  Ophthalmia  —  popular  remedies  —  proper 
treatment...  Pneumonia  —  oymptoms  —  Mr.  Spooner's  prescription  for.  ..Bronchitis—  symptoms  —  treatment 
...Catarrh  —  ordinarily  not  dangerous  —  preventives.  ..Malignant  Epizootic  Catarrh  —  prevalence  in  the 
Nqrthern  States  —  character  of  the  disease  has  not  been  understood  —  prevalence  in  author's  flock  —  how 
produced—  symptoms  —  post-mortem  appearances—  character  of  the  disease  ascertained  —  Nosology  — 
Ireatment,  &c.  ..The  Rot  —  its  diagnosis  —  post-mortem  appearances  —  description  of  the  Fluke  —  causes  of 
the  Rot  —  treatment.  .  .Diarrhea  —  cause  —  diagnosis  —  treatment.  .  .  Dysentery  —  cause  —  difference  between 
it  and  diarrhea  —  treatment...  Garget  —  seat  and  origin  of  the  disease  —  treatment..  .Nervous  Diseases... 
Apop'exy  —  unrecognized  cases  of  it  —  several  cases  detailed  —  symptoms—  treatment...  Phrenitis.  ..Tet- 
anus. ..Epilepsy.  ..Rabies.  ..Neither  of  them  common  in  this  country...  Paralysis  —  symptoms  —  treat- 
ment- .Colic  —  symptoms  —  attributed  to  intussusception  —  true  cause  —  treatment. 

THE  THORACIC  VISCERA. 

Among  these,  for  convenience,  I  will  include  the  diaphragm. 

THE  DIAPHRAGM.  —  The  diaphragm  or  midriff  is  a  muscle  extending  en- 
tirely across  the  inner  cavity  of  the  body,  separating  the  abdomen  from 
the  thorax  or  chest.  Its  structure  is  unique,  and  beautifully  adapted  to  the 
functions  it  has  to  perform.  Its  outer  margin  is  muscular,  giving  it  the  ne- 
cessary power  of  contraction,  while  toward  the  middle  it  changes  into  a 
transparent  tendonous  substance.  Through  this  tendonous  substance  pass 
the  cesophagus,  the  aorta,  and  the  vena  cava. 

If  the  parts  of  the  diaphragm  which  immediately  surround  these  vessels 
had  been  muscular,  every  contraction  of  the  former  in  the  act  of  respira- 
tion, would  have  compressed  the  latter,  and  therefore  interfered  with  the 
passage  of  the  food  to  the  stomach,  and  the  circulation  of  the  blood.  In  a 
state  of  rest  the  diaphragm  is  convex  toward  the  thorax.  When  contract- 
ed and  flattened,  therefore,  it  enlarges  the  cavity  of  the  thorax,  and  air 
rushes  into  the  lungs.  Its  alternate  contractions  and  relaxations  mainly 
produce  the  act  of  respiration  or  breathing. 

THE  THORAX.  —  "Without  injuring  the  diaphragm,  divide  the  sternum  and 
brisket  of  the  sheep  longitudinally  through  the  center,  with  a  fine  saw,  and 
on  pulling  the  lower  extremity  of  the  ribs  slightly  apart,  the  thorax  will  be 
disclosed  in  its  natural  arrangement.  It  consists  of  three  cavities,  formed  by 
the  doublings  of  the  pleura,  a  thin  serous  membrane,  which  lines  the  whole 
interior  of  the  chest.  Two  outer  and  larger  cavities  (the  right  one  being 
the  largest),  contain  the  lungs  —  a  third  and  smaller  one,  lying  between  the 
posterior  portions  of  the  former,  contains  the  heart.  The  cesophagus  pass- 
es through  the  upper  portion  of  the  thorax,  over  the  lungs  and  heart,  and 
between  them  and  the  spine,  to  the  lower  portion  of  the  neck. 

THE  HEART,  ARTERIES,  CAPILLARIES,  AND  VEINS.  —  With  the  size  and 
general  appearance  of  the  heart,  all  are  familiar.  Enclosed  in  a  mem- 
braneous sac  —  the  pericardium  —  it  hangs  suspended  by  its  superior  attach- 
ments to  the  roof  of  the  thorax,  its  lower  extremity  nearly  reaching  to  its 
floor,  and  pointing  toward  the  left  side.  The  heart  has  two  cavities  on 
each  side,  termed  auricles  and  ventricles,  The  chvle  and  venous  blood  are 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  235 

discharged  into  the  right  auricle,  and  thence  into  the  right  ventricle.  By 
the  contraction  of  the  latter,  its  contents  are  forced  through  the  pulmona- 
ry artery  into  the  lungs.  The  blood  having  been  purified  in  the  lungs,  is 
returned  to  the  left  auricle  ;  thence  into  the  left  ventricle  ;  and  it  is  then 
forced  into  the  aorta,  or  large  artery  which  supplies,  by  its  different 
branches,  all  parts  of  the  system  with  blood.  Each  compartment  of  the 
heart  is  furnished  with  appropriate  valves  to  cause  the  blood  to  be  forced 
forward  in  its  regular  course,  by  the  muscular  contractions  of  this  viscus. 
These  contractions  are  the  result  of  an  inherent  and  independent  power. 

The  contractions  of  the  heart  force  the  blood  into  and  along  the  arteries. 
When  this  force  begins  to  be  spent  as  the  distance  from  the  heart  in- 
creases, it  receives  aid  from  the  action  of  the  muscular  coat  of  the  arteries 
themselves,  which  forces  along  the  blood  to  their  utmost  extremities. 

The  arteries  continue  to  branch  off  into  more  and  more  minute  divisions 
as  they  recede  from  the  heart,  until  the  tubes  are  much  less  in  diameter 
than  the  finest  hair.  These,  capillaries  as  they  are  called,  open  by  exceed- 
ingly minute  mouths  in  every  part  of  the  frame,  for  the  deposition  of  those 
secretions  from  the  blood  which  maintain  the  vitality  and  healthy  action 
of  the  parts,  supply  the  animal  waste,  &c. 

The  capillaries,  commencing  their  return  toward  the  heart,  constantly 
reunite,  forming  larger  tubes  which  are  called  veins,  which  bring  back 
such  portions  of  the  blood  carried  out  by  the  arteries,  as  has  not  been  ex- 
pended in  nourishing  the  system.  The  blood  now  deprived  of  its  oxygen, 
and  loaded  with  carbon,  is  unfit  for  farther  circulation  until  re-purified  in 
the  lungs.  It  is  of  a  darker  color  than  the  arterial  blood.  It  is  no  longer 
urged  on  by  the  contractile  power  of  the  tubes  through  which  it  flows,  but 
by  the  partial  vacuum  formed  in  the  right  auricle  (as  at  each  contraction 
it  forces  its  contents  into  the  right  ventricle,)  and  by  atmospheric 
pressure.  

THE  LUNGS. — The  lungs  are  bodies  composed  of  separate  minute  air- 
cells,  communicating  with  the  bronchial  tubes,  or  subdivisions  of  the  wind- 
pipe. They  also  contain  many  arteries,  and  veins.  On  the  delicate  mem- 
braneous walls  of  the  air-cells  the  venous  blood  is  carried  by  innumerable 
tubes  so  thin  as  to  permit  their  contents  to  be  acted  upon  by  the  atmos- 
pheric air  which  fills  the  cells  at  every  inspiration.  Here  the  blood  gives 
off  its  carbon,  and  receives  oxygen  from  the  air,  and  thus  is  prepared  for 
its  return  to  the  heart,  and  to  be  again  sent  through  the  system. 

The  right  lung  is  somewhat  larger  than  the  left,  and  both  fill  their  re- 
spective cavities  when  inflated.  They  are  entirely  free  from  any  attach- 
ment to  the  pleura — the  membrane  which  lines  the  ribs — when  in  their 
natural  state.  "When  the  animal  has  been  bled  to  death,  the  lungs  are  of 
a  light  color  ;  but  if  the  animal  has  died  with  all  its  blood  in  it,  their  color 
resembles  that  of  the  liver.  This  can,  however,  be  readily  distinguished 
from  hepatization — the  result  of  certain  diseases — as  will  be  hereafter 
shown.  

THE  WINDPIPE,  LARYNX,  PHARYNX,  &c. — The  bronchial  tubes  constant- 
ly uniting  as  they  approach  the  anterior  portion  or  root  of  each  lung,  final- 
ly form  a  single  large  tube,  as  they  make  their  exit  from  each  lobe,  and 
these,  uniting  into  one,  form  the  windpipe.  This  is  a  well  known  cartila- 
ginous tube  which  passes  out  of  the  chest  between  the  first  two  ribs,  and 
ascends  on  the  front  part  of  the  neck.  It  unites  with  the  larynx,  which 
continues  the  air  passage  from  the  lungs  to  the  mouth.  The  (Esophagus 
leaves  the  chest  close  beside  the  windpipe,  and  ascends  the  neck  on  the 


236 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


left  side  of  the  latter.  It  communicates  with  the  pharynx  which  comniu- 
cates  with  the  mouth.  The  food  on  being  swallowed  enters  the  pharynx 
or  food  bag,  which  is  directly  above  the  larynx — so  that  the  food  traverses 
the  entrance  to  the  latter.  It  is  deterred  from  entering  the  windpipe  by 
the  epiglottis,  a  triangular  lid  or  valve  which  projects  upward  from  v,he 
floor  of  the  passage,  and  which  closes  upon  and  covers  the  glottis,  or  en- 
trance into  the  windpipe,  when  any  substance  more  dense  than  air  comes 
in  contact  with  it  in  its  downward  passage. 

THE  THYROID  .IND  PAROTID  GLANDS. — The  Thyroid  glands  are  located 
on  each  side  of  the  trachea.  The  parotid  glands  are  situated  immediately 
below  the  ear,  behind  the  angle  of  the  lower  jaw.  There  are  certain 
other  glands  situated  beneath  the  lower  jaw,  not  necessary  here  to  be  re- 
ferred to. 


THE  HEAD  AND  ITS  CONTENTS. 

Fig.  49. 

4 

> 

4 


BONES  OF  THE  HEAD. 


1.  The  nasal  bone. 

2.  The  upper  jaw  bone. 

3.  The  intermaxillary  hone,  which  supports  the 

pad  which  supplies  the  place  of  upper  front 
teeth. 
1.4.  The  frontal  sinus. 

5.  Cavity  or  sinus  of  the  horn,  communicating 

with  the  frontHl  sinus.  It  is  here  shown  by 
the  removal  of  a  section  of  the  base  of  the 
horn. 

6.  The  parietal  bone. 

7.  The  frontal  bone. 

8.  Vertical  section  of  the  brain. 


9.  Vertical  section  of  the  cerebellum. 

a.  The  cineritious  portion  of  the  brain. 

b.  The  medullary  portion. 

10.  The  ethmoid  bone. 

1 1.  The  cribriform  or  perforated  plate  of  the  ethmoid 

bone.  "  It  separates  the  nasal  cavity  from  the 
brain  ;  it  is  thin  almost  as  a  wafer,  and  pierced 
by  numerous  holes,  through  which  the  olfacto- 
ry nerve  penetrates,  in  order  to  spread  itself 
over  the  inner  part  of  the  nose." 

12.  The  lower  cell  of  the  ethmoid  bone. 

13.  The  superior  turbinated  bone. 

14.  The  inferior  turbinated  bone. 


17.  The  sphenoid  bone. 

The  above  cut,  copied  from  Youatt,  gives,  with  the  subjoined  explana- 
tions, a  sufficient  description  of  most  of  the  structures  of  the  head..  Some, 
however,  demand  a  little  more  particular  description. 

THE  BRAIN. — The  brain  of  the  sheep  is  smaller  in  proportion  than  that 
of  Man,  but  is  shaped  so  nearly  like  the  latter,  and  so  closely  resembles 
it  in  its  general  structure  and  conformation,  that  it  furnishes  the  medical 
student  with  a  good  substitute  for  the  brain  of  the  human  subject !  The 
brain  is  invested  in  a  membrane  called  the  pia  mater.  The  cranium  or 
skull  is  lined  by  the  dura  mater,  and  between  this  and  the  former  there  is 
a  delicate  membrane  called  the  tunica  arachnoides. 

THE  NERVES. — Ten  pair  of  nerves  arise  from  the  brain,  and  thirty  pair 
from  the  spinal  cord.  These  supply  the  sense  of  seeing,  hearing,  tasting^ 
gmelling,  feeling,  &c.  &c. ;  and  a  portion  of  them,  termed  neives  of  me 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


lion,  communicate  that  volition  of  the  brain  to  the  different  parts  of  the 
system,  which  produces  motion.  A  description  of  these  various  nerves,  OT 
sven  an  enumeration  of  them,  would  be  of  no  'practical  benefit  in  a  mere 
popular  veterinary  treatise. 

THE  TEETH. — The  sheep  has  24  molar  teeth,  and  eight  incisors.  The 
latter  are  confined  to  the  lower  jaw,  being  opposed  to  a  firm,  hard,  elastic 
pad  or  cushion  on  the  upper  jaw.  The  incisors  are  gow^e-shaped — i.  e., 
concave  without  and  convex  within — which  enables  the  sheep  to  crop  tho 
herbage  closer  to  the  ground  than  our  other  domestic  ruminant,  the  ox. 

The  lamb  is  born  without  incisor  teeth,  or  it  has  but  two.  In  three  or 
four  weeks,  it  has  eight  small,  shortish  ones,  as  represented 

Fig.  51.  Fig.  52. 


n  fig.  50.— 


Fig.  50. 


Fig.  54 


Fig.  55. 


Whan  not  far  from  a  year  old — though  sometimes  not  until  fourteen,  fif- 
teen, or  even  sixteen  months  old — the  two  central  incisors  are  shed,  and 
their  place  is  supplied  by  two  longer  and  broader  teeth,  as  in  fig.  51.  The 
sheep  is  then  termed,  in  this  country,  a  yearling,  or  yearling  jxzst.  Two 
of  the  "  lamb  teeth"  continue  to  be  annually  shed  and  their  places  supplied 
with  the  permanent  ones  until  the  sheep  becomes  "full-mouthed"  Fig. 
52  presents  the  teeth  of  a  two-year-old-past — fig.  53  of  a  three-year-old- 
past — fig.  55  of  a  four-year-old-past.  The  four-year-old-past  is,  in  reality, 
nearly  or  quite  five  years  old,  before  it  obtains  its  whole  number  of  full-- 
grown permanent  teeth.  The  two-year-old  and  three-year-old  also  about 
reach  their  next  year  before  their  additional  incisors  are  fully  grown. — 
Hence,  the  English  writers  all  speak  of  two  broad  teeth  (meaning  fully- 
grown  ones)  as  indicating  the  age  of  two  years ;  four  broad  teeth,  three 
years  ;  six  broad  teeth,  four  years ;  and  eight  broad  teeth,  or  full-mouthed, 
five  years.  I  prefer  the  English  arrangement,  as  more  accurate,  but  the 
other  is  the  common  one  in  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States;  and,  as  it 
is  a  matter  of  little  practical  consequence,  it  will  here  be  adhered  to. 

Fig.  54  gives  an  inside  view  of  the  incisors  of  a  three-year-old-past — an 
outside  view  of  which  is  given  in  fig.  53.  The  two  remaining  lamb  teeth 
are  here  shown,  which  in  the  outside  view  are  concealed  by  the  last  pair 
of  permanent  teeth.  From  their  being  thus  concealed,  the  three  is  often 
mistaken  for  the  four-year-old-past,  by  those  who  do  not  count  the  perma- 
nent teeth. 

At  six  years  old,  the  incisors  begin,  to  diminish  in  breadth.  At  seven 
they  have  lost  their  fan-like  shape,  being  equilateral,  long,  and  narrow.— 
At  eight,  they  are  still  narrower ;  and  this  year  or  the  next,  reversing  the 
flaring  or  divergent  position  in  which  they  are  shown  in  fig.  55,  they  begip 


238  SHEEF  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

to  point  in  toward  the  two  central  ones.  Their  narrowness  and  inward 
direction  increases  for  a  year  or  two  more,  when  they  begin  to  drop  out. 
Sheep  fed  on  turnips  or  other  roots,  lose  their  teeth  earlier  than  those 
which  only  receive  grain,  hay,  &c.  in  winter.  At  twelve  years  old,  the  in- 
cisors are  usually  gone  with  the  exception  of  one  or  two  loose  ones.  And 
here  let  me  remark  that  when  the  incisors  are  reduced  to  one  or  two,  they 
should  always  be  twitched  out  with  a  pair  of  nippers.  They  are  useless 
for  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  formed,  and  they  prevent  that  contact 
of  the  lower  gum  with  the  pad  above,  which  is  now  the  only  substitute  for 
teeth  in  cropping  grass.  When  all  the  incisors  are  gone,  the  gums  of  the 
lower  jaw  rapidly  harden,  and  I  have  known  ewes  to  live  for  years,  keep 
in  fair  condition  and  rear  lambs,  without  an  incisor  tooth  in  their  heads  ! 

The  above  remarks  are  more  particularly  applicable  to  the  Merino 
breed.  The  other  breeds,  so  far  as  my  acquaintance  extends,  lose  their 
teeth,  or  become  "  broken-mouthed  "  somewhat  earlier  ;  and  they  dwin- 
dle away  and  die  soon  after  they  begin  to  lose  their  teeth. 

THE  LOWER  EXTREMITIES. 

THE  BIFLEX  CANAL. — The  lower  extremities  of  the  sheep,  including  the 
legs,  feet,  &c.,  require  no  anatomical  description.  I  will  simply  call  atten- 
tion to  the  biflex  or  interdigital  canal,  the  nature  and  diseases  of  which 
have  been  the  subjects  of  so  many  errors.  It  is  a  small  orifice  openin^ 
externally  on  the  front  of  each  pastern  immediately  above  the  cleft  be- 
tween the  toes.  It  bifurcates  within,  a  tube  passing  down  on  each  side 
of  the  inner  face  of  the  pastern,  winding  round  and  ending  in  a  cul  de  sac. 

The  use  of  this  canal  is  a  matter  of  doubt.  Mr.  Spooner  thinks  the  hair 
always  found  in  it  is  "  excreted  from  the  internal  surface,"  and  "  from  the 
oraallness  of  the  opening  it  cannot  escape,  or  rather  is  detained  for  a  use- 
ful purpose."  He  continues  : 

"  The  use  of  this  canal,  thus  stuffed  with  hair,  is  self-evident.  We  have  mentioned  the 
great  motion  possessed  by  this  pastern  joint,  which  is  so  great  as  to  threaten  to  chafe  the 
skin  by  the  friction  of  one  side  against  the  other.  It  is  to  prevent  or  ward  off  this  friction 
that  these  biflex  canals,  or  rather  hair-stuffed  cushions,  are  provided." 

In  my  judgment,  this  is  a  very  far-fetched  conclusion,  and  Mr.  Youatt's 
is  little  more  satisfactory.  Diseases  originating  in  this  canal  are  some- 
times confounded  with  hoof-ail ;  and  the  canal,  or  a  portion  of  it,  is  often 
dissected,  or  rather  mangled  out  by  ignorant  charlatans  in  pursuit  of  an 
imaginary  ivorm,  which,  they  induce  the  credulous  farmer  to  believe,  ori- 
ginates the  hoof-ail !  The  hoof-ail  proper  has  nothing  to  do  with,  nor  do 
its  characteristic  lesions  extend  to  this  canal. 


FEBRILE    DISEASES. 

Simple  inflammatory,  malignant  inflammatory,  and  typhus  fevers  often 
devastate  the  flocks  of  Europe  ;  but  they  seem  scarcely  to  be  known  in 
the  United  States,  and  are.  included  in  no  American  work  on  the  diseases 
of  sheep  which  has  fallen  under  my  eye. 

The  same  remark  applies  to  phrenitis  (inflammation  of  the  brain),  pleu- 
ritis  (inflammation  of  the  membrane  which  lines  the  thorax),  gastritis  (in- 
flammation of  the  stomach),  enteretis  (inflammation  of  the  intestines),  cys- 
titis (inflammation  of  the  bladder),  laryngitis  (inflammation  of  the  larynx), 
and  several  other  inflammatory  diseases. 

OPHTHALMIA. — Ophthalmia,  or  inflammation  of  the  eye,  is  not  uncommon 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  239 

in  our  country,  but  is  little  noticed,  as  in  most  cases  it  disappears  in  a  few 
day*,  or,  at  worst,  is  only  followed  by  cataract.  The  cataract  being  usu- 
ally confined  to  one  eye  does  not  appreciably  affect  the  value  of  the  ani- 
mal, and  therefore  has  no  influence  on  its  market  price.  As  a  remedy  for  this 
disease,  Mr.  Grove  recommended  blowing  pulverized  red  chalk  into  the 
inflamed  eye  !  Others  squirt  into  it  tobacco  juice,  from  that  ever  ready 
reservoir  of  this  nauseous  fluid,  their  mouths !  I  apprehend  that  all  such 
prescriptions  are  far  worse  than  nothing. 

Conceiving  it  a  matter  of  humanity  to  do  fometlling,  I  have  in  some  in- 
stances drawn  blood  from  under  the  eye,  bathed  the  eye  in  tepid  water, 
and  occasionally  with  a  weak  solution  of  the  sulphate  of  zinc  combined 
with  tincture  of  opium.  These  applications  diminish  pain  and  accelerate 
the  cure.  

PNEUMONIA. — Pneumonia,  or  inflammation  of  the  lungs,  is  not  a  com- 
mon disease,  in  the  Northern  States,  but  undoubted  cases  of  it  sometimes 
occur,  after  sheep  have  been  exposed  to  sudden  cold — particularly  when 
recently  shorn.  The  adhesions  occasionally  witnessed  between  the  lungs 
and  pleura  of  slaughtered  sheep,  betray  the  former  existence  of  this  dis- 
ease— though  in  many  instances  it  was  so  slight  as  to  be  mistaken,  in  the 
time  of  it,  for  a  hard  cold.  The  sheep  laboring  under  pneumonia  is  dull, 
ceases  to  ruminate,  neglects  its  food,  drinks  frequently  and  largely,  and  its 
breathing  is  rapid  and  laborious.  The  eye  is  clouded — the  nose  discharges 
a  tenacious,  fetid  matter — the  teeth  are  ground  frequently,  so  that  the 
sound  is  audible  to  some  distance.  The  pulse  is  at  first  hard  and  rapid— 
sometimes  intermittent ;  but  before  death  it  becomes  weak.  During  the 
hight  of  the  fever,  the  flanks  heave  violently.  There  is  a  hard,  painful 
eough  during  the  first  stages  of  the  disease.  This  becomes  weaker,  and 
£&ems  to  be  accompanied  with  more  pain  as  death  approaches. 

After  death,  the  lungs  are  found  more  or  less  hepatized,  i.  e.  permanently 
condensed,  and  engorged  with  blood,  so  that  their  structure  resembles 
that  of  the  hepar,  or  liver — and  they  have  so  far  lost  their  integrity  that 
they  are  torn  asunder  by  the  slightest  force. 

It  may  be  well  in  this  place  to  remark  that  when  sheep  die  from  any 
cause  with  their  Hood  in  them,  the  lungs  have  a  dark  hepatized  appear- 
ance. But  whether  actually  hepatized  or  not,  can  be  readily  decided  by 
compressing  the  windpipe,  so  that  air  cannot  escape  through  it,  and  then 
between  such  compression  and  the  body  of  the  lungs,  in  a  closely  fitting 
orifice,  insert  a  goose-quill  or  other  tube,  and  continue  to  blow  until  the 
lungs  are  inflated  so  far  as  they  can  be.  As  they  inflate,  they  will  become 
lighter  colored,  and  t>lainly  manifest  their  cellular  structure.  If  any  por- 
tions of  them  cannot  be  inflated,  and  retain  their  dark,  liver-like  consistency 
and  color,  they  exhibit  hepatization — the  result  of  high  inflammatory  ac- 
tion— and  a  state  utterly  incompatible,  in  the  living  animal,  with  the  dis- 
charge of  the  natural  functions  of  the  viscus. 

With  the  treatment  of  pneumonia,  I  have  but  little  personal  experience. 
In  the  first  or  inflammatory  stages  of  the  disease,  bleeding  and  aperients 
are  clearly  called  for.  Mr.  Spooner  recommends  "  early  and  copious 
bleeding,  repeated,  if  necessary,  in  a  few  hours  .  .  .  this  followed  by  aperi- 
ent medicines,  such  as  2  oz.  of  Epsom  salts,  which  may  be  repeated  in 
smaller  doses  if  the  bowels  are  not  sufficiently  relaxed.  .  .  .  The  following 
sedative  may  also  be  given  with  gruel  twice  a  day : 

Nitrate  of  potash 1  drachm. 

Digitalis,  powdered 1  scruple. 

Tartarized  antimony 1      do. 


240  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

The  few  cases  I  have  seen  have  been  of  a  sub-acute  character,  and  would 
not  bear  treatment  so  decidedly  and  /think  dangerously  antiphlogistic. 

Mr.  Youatt  remarks  : 

• 

"  Depletion  may  be  of  inestimable  value  during  the  continuance — the  short  continuance— 
of  the  febrile  state ;  but  excitation  like  this  will  soon  be  followed  by  corresponding  ex- 
haustion, and  then  the  bleeding  and  the  purging  would  be  murderous  expedients,  and  gentian, 
ginger,  and  the  spirit  of  nitrous  ether  will  afford  the  only  hope  of  cure." 

BRONCHITIS. — It  would  be  difficult  to  suppose  that  where  sheep  are  sub- 
ject to  pneumonia  they  would  not  also  be  subject  to  bronchitis — which  is 
an  inflammation  of  the  mucous  membrane  which  lines  the  bronchial  tubes 
— the  air-passes  of  the  lungs.  I  have  seen  no  cases,  however,  which  1 
have  been  able  to  identify  as  bronchitis,  and  have  examined  no  subjects, 
after  death,  which  exhibited  its  characteristic  lesions.  Its  symptoms  are 
those  of  an  ordinary  cold,  but  attended  with  more  fever  and  a  tenderness 
of  the  throat  and  belly  when  pressed  upon. 

Treatment. — Administer  salt  in  doses  from  li  to  2  oz.,  with  6  or  8  oz. 
of  lime-water,  given  in  some  other  part  of  the  day.  This  is  Mr.  Youatt'a 
prescription. 

CATARRH. — Catarrh  is  an  inflammation  of  the  mucous  membrane  which 
lines  the  nasal  passages — and  it  sometimes  extends  to  the  larynx  and  pha- 
rynx. In  the  first  instance — where  the  lining1  of  the  nasal  passages  is 
alone  and  not  very  violently  affected — it  is  merely  accompanied  by  an  in- 
creased discharge  of  mucus,  and  is  rarely  attended  with  much  danger.  In 
this  form  it  is  usually  termed  snuffles,  and  high-bred  English  mutton  sheep, 
in  this  country,  are  apt  to  manifest  more  or  less  of  it,  after  every  sudden 
change  of  weather.  When  the  inflammation  extends  to  the  mucous  lining 
of  the  larynx  and  pharynx,  some  degree  of  fever  usually  supervenes,  ac- 
companied by  cough,  and  some  loss  of  appetite.  At  this  point  the  Eng- 
lish veterinarians  usually  recommend  bleeding  and  purging.  Catarrh  rarely 
attacks  the  American  fine-wooled  sheep  with  sufficient  violence  in  summer, 
to  require  the  exhibition  of  remedies.  I  early  found  that  depletion,  in 
catarrh,  in  our  severe  winter  months,  rapidly  produced  that  fatal  prostra- 
tion, from  which  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  recover  the  sheep — entirely  im- 
possible, without  bestowing  an  amount  of  time  and  care  on  it,  costing  far 
more  than  the  price  of  any  ordinary  sheep. 

The  best  course  is  to  prevent  the  disease,  by  judicious  precautions.  With 
,hat  amount  of  attention  which  every  prudent  flock-master  should  bestow 
on  his  sheep,  the  hardy  American  Merino  is  little  subject  to  it.  Good, 
comfortable,  but  well-ventilated  shelters,  constantly  accessible  to  the  sheep 
in  winter,  with  a  sufficiency  of  food  regularly  administered,  is  usually  a 
sufficient  safeguard;  and  after  some  years  of  experience,  during  which  I 
have  tried  a  variety  of  experiments  on  this  disease,  I  resort  to  no  other 
remedies — in  other  words,  I  do  nothing  for  those  occasional  cases  of  ordina- 
ry catarrh  which  arise  in  my  flock,  and  they  never  prove  fatal. 

MALIGNANT  EPIZOOTIC  CATARRH. — Essentially  differing  from  the  pre- 
ceding in  type  and  virulence  is  an  epidemic,  or,  more  properly  speaking, 
an  epizootic,  malady,  which  as  often  as  once  in  eight  or  ten  years  sweeps 
over  extended  sections  of  the  Northern  States,  destroying  more  sheep  than 
all  the  other  diseases  put  together.  It  usually  makes  its  appearance  in  win- 
ters characterized  'by  rapid  and  violent  changes  of  temperature.  The 
Northern  farmers  speak  of  these  as  the  "  bad  winters  "  for  sheep — fre- 
quently without  assigning  any  name  to  the  malady.  Others  term  the  lat 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


ter  "  The  Distemper"  and  others  again  call  it  the  "  Grub  in  the  Head"  at- 
tributing the  evil  exclusively  to  the  presence  of  these  parasites.  The 
latter,  as  I  shall  hereafter  show,  is  an  entirely  erroneous  hypothesis. 

The  winter  of  1846-7    was  one   of  these  "  bad  winters,"   and   the  d^ 
struction  of  sheep  in  New-York,  and  some  adjoining  States,  was  very  ex 
tensive.     Some  flock-masters  lost  half,  others  three-quarters,  and  a  few 
seven-eighths  of  their  flocks.  One  individual  within  a  few  miles  of  me  lost 
five   hundred    out  of  eight  hundred  —  another  nine  hundred  out  of  one 
thousand  !     But  these  severe  losses  fell  mainly  on   the  holders  of  the  deli- 
cate Saxon  sheep,  and  perhaps,  generally,  on  those  possessing  not  the  best 
accommodations,  or  the  greatest  degree  of  energy  and  skill. 

I  lost  about  fifty  sheep  during  this  winter,  and  never  having  seen  any  de- 
scription of  the  pathology  of  this  disease,  its  diagnosis,  its  lesions  —  or,  in 
short,  any  attempt  to  ascertain  its  specific  character  or  proper  classifica- 
tion in  our  ovine  nosology  —  I  shall  attempt  to  supply  some  of  these  omis- 
sions. Not  dreaming  then  of  a  publication  of  this  kind,  my  notes  were 
only  taken  for  private  reference,  and  were  not  as  full  as  they  should  be  for 
a  veterinary  treatise.  I  might  supply  some  of  these  omissions  accurately 
from  recollection,  but  do  not  consider  it  proper  thus  to  endanger  the  accu- 
racy of  records,  which  as  far  as  they  go,  I  think  may  now  be  implicitly  re- 
lied  on.  My  post-mortem  examinations  were  made  at  intervals  snatched 
from  other  pressing  engagements.  This  fact,  and  certain  preconceived 
views  —  which  I  subsequently  found  erroneous  —  prevented  me  from  making 
those  examinations,  and  more  particularly  the  records  of  them,  as  minute 
and  extended  as  could  be  wished.  I  then  sought  only  to  convince  myself 
of  the  true  nature  and  character  of  the  disease. 

In  detailing  the  results  of  my  experience  in  the  premises,  I  conceive  it  a 
duty  to  frankly  state  the  whole  facts.  The  records  of  mismanagement  and 
error,  are  often  as  useful,  nay,  more  so,  than  those  of  successful  manage- 
ment, and  it  is  a  pitiful  pride  which  prevents  any  man,  who  pretends  to 
communicate  information  to  the  public,  from  giving  that  public  the  bene- 
fit of  his  examples  which  are  to  be  avoided,  as  well  as  those  which  are  to 
hv  followed. 

Up  to  February,  my  sheep  remained  apparently  perfectly  sound,  and 
they  were  in  good  flesh.  Each  flock  had  excellent  shelters,  were  fed  re- 
gularly, etc.,  and  although  sheep  were  beginning  to  perish  about  the  coun- 
try, my  uniform  previous  impunity  in  these  "  bad  winters  "  led  me  to  en- 
tertain no  apprehensions  of  the  prevailing  epizootic.  About  the  first  of 
February,  my  sheep  went  into  the  charge  of  a  new  man,  hired  upon  the 
highest  recommendations.  A  few  days  after,  I  was  called  away  from  home 
for  a  week.  The  weather  during  my  absence  was,  a  part  of  the  time,  very- 
severe.  The  sheep-house  occupied  by  one  flock  containing  one  hundred 
sheep,  was,  with  the  exception  of  two  doors,  as  close  a  room  as  can  be 
made  by  nailing  on  the  wall-boards  vertically  and  without  lapping,  as  is 
common  on  our  Northern  barns.*  One  of  the  doors  was  always  left  open, 
to  permit  the  free  ingress  and  egress  of  the  sheep,  and  for  necessary  ventila- 
tion. A  half  dozen  ewes  which  had  been  untimely  impregnated  by  a 
neighbor's  ram,  were  on  the  point  of  lambing,  and  it  being  safer  to  confine 
the  ewes  in  a  warm  room  over  night,  the  shepherd,  instead  of  removing 
them  to  such  a  room,  confined  the  whole  flock  in  the  sheep-house  every 
night,  and  rendered  it  warm  by  closing  loth  doors  !  After  two  or  three 
hours,  the  air  must  have  become  excessively  impure.  On  entering  the 
sheep-house,  on  my  return,  I  was  at  once  struck  with  the  fetid,  highly  of- 
fensive smell.  A  change,  too,  slight  but  ominous,  had  taken  place  in  the 

*  Boards  in  these  cases  shrink  so  as  tc  leave  slight  cracks  between  them. 

2H 


242  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY     N  THE  SOUTH. 

appearance  of  a  part  of  the  flock.  They  showed  no  signs  of  violent  colds,  ] 
heard  no  coughing,  sneezing,  or  labored  respiration — and  the  only  indica- 
tion of  catarrh  which  I  noticed,  was  a  nasal  discharge,  by  a  few  sheep, 
13«t  those  having  this  nasal  discharge,  and  some  others,  looked  dull  and 
drooping  ;  their  eyes  ran  a  little — were  partially  closed,  the  caruncle  and 
lids  looked  pale — their  movements  were  languid — and  the  shepherd  com- 
plained that  they  did  not  eat  quite  so  well  as  the  others.  The  pulse  was 
nearly  natural — though  1  thought  a  trifle  too  languid. 

Not  knowing  what  the  disease  was — and  fully  believing  that  depletion 
by  bleeding  or  physic  was  not  called  for,  let  the  disease  be  what  it  would. 
I  contented  myself  with  thoroughly  purifying  the  sheep  house — seeingthat 
the  feeding,  etc.,*  was  managed  with  the  greatest  regularity — and  closely 
watching  the  farther  symptoms  of  disease  in  the  flock.  In  about  a  week, 
the  above  described  symptoms  were  evidently  aggravated,  and  there  had 
been  a  rapid  emaciation,  accompanied  with  debility,  in  the  sheep  first  at- 
tacked. The  countenance  was  exceeding  dull  and  drooping — the  eye 
kept  more  than  half  closed — the  caruncle,  lids,  &c.  almost  bloodless — a 
gummy  yellow  secretion  below  the  eye — thick  glutinous  mucus  adhering 
in  and  about  the  nostrils — appetite  feeble — pulse  languid — and  the  muscu- 
lar energy  greatly  prostrated.  Nothing  unusual  was  yet  noticed  about 
their  stools  or  urine. 

I  now  had  all  the  diseased  sheep  removed  from  the  flock,  and  placed  in 
rooms  the  temperature  of  which  could  be  easily  regulated. 

I  commenced  giving  slight  tonics  and  stimulants,  such  as  gentian,  gin- 
ger, etc.,  but  apparently  with  no  material  effect.  They  rapidly  grew  weak- 
er, stumbled  and  fell  as  they  walked,  and  soon  became  unable  to  rise.  The 
appetite  grew  feebler — the  mucus  at  the  nose,  in  some  instances,  tinged 
with  dark  grumous  blood — the  respiration  oppressed,  and  they  died  with- 
in a  day  or  two  after  they  became  unable  to  rise. 

I  proceeded  to  make  some  post-mortem  examinations,  which  I  shall 
here  detail,  although,  as  I  have  before  remarked,  they  are  extremely  im- 
perfect. I  was  at  first  inclined  to  suspect  that  the  primary  disease  was  one 
of  some  of  the  abdominal  or  thoracic  viscera,  and  this  impression  was  con- 
firmed by  the  abnormal  condition  of  these  viscera  in  the  first  subjects  exam- 
ined. I  therefore  improperly  confined  my  attention  to  these,  and  some  of 
the  external  tissues,  without  any  examination  of  the  interior  organs  of  the 
head  and  neck.  I  shall  give  my  notes  verbatim  as  they  were  taken  down 
at  the  time,  whether  the  appearances  detailed  have,  as  I  now  believe,  any 
connection  with  the  fatal  disease  or  not. 

Case  1st.  Old  sheep.  Much  emaciated — mouth  and  lips  covered  with 
yellow  froth — yellow  waxy  matter  under  eyes — adhesive  mucus  in  and 
about  nostrils.  On  opening,  external  tissues  appear  healthy— two  hyda- 
tids  on  omentum  of  the  size  of  a  walnut — gall-bladder  enlarged  and  enor- 
mously distended  with  pale,  and  apparently  not  properly  eliminated  bile 
•—gall-bladder  slightly  adhering  to  omentum — mesenteric  glands  enlarged 
— other  abdominal  viscera  believed  to  be  normal- — fasces  in  rectum  thought 
to  indicate  a  constipated  habit — stomachs  rather  empty.  Thoracic  viscera 
healthy. 

Case  2d.  Two  years  old.  External  appearances  as  in  Case  1st,  with 
the  exception  of  the  yellow  froth  about  the  mouth.  External  tissues 
healthy.  Gall-bladder  very  small  and  nearly  empty — bile  pale  and  un« 
eliminated — mesenteric  glands  enlarged — schirrous  tumor  at  the  junction 


*  They  had  been  fed  with  bright  hay  three  times  a  day,  and  turnips.  As  those  affected  as  above  did  n»l 
eat  their  turnips  well,  I  commenced  feeding  some  oats,  in  addition  to  the  turnips.  I  believed  that  a  gener 
out  feed  was  called  for,  and  I  gave  it 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IiN  THE  SOUTH.          243 


of  the  coecum  and  colon  of  the  size  of  a  butternut.  Superior  lobe  of  left 
lung  adherent  to  pleura  costalis — three  lobes  of  right  lung  ditto,  with  slight 
traces  of  recent  inflammation.  Hydro-pericarditis — the  pericardium  slight- 
ly inflamed  and  containing  something  more  than  a  gill  of  serum.  • 

Case  3d.  Old,  and  in  lamb.  External  appearances  and  tissues  as  in 
Case  2d.  Omentum  dark-yellowish,  or  yellowish-brown  by  deposition  of 
lymph,  the  result  of  inflammatory  action — gall-bladder  precisely  as  in  Caso 
2d — tabes  mesentrica  or  enlargement  of  the  mesenteric  glands,  as  in  the 
preceding  cases.  Middle  lobe  of  right  lung  slightly  hepatized,  and  adher- 
ent to  pleura  costalis — hydro-pericarditis,  (a  gill  of  serum  in  pericar- 
dium.) 

Case  4th.  Yearling  ram.  External  appearances  and  tissues  as  in  pre 
ceding  cases.  Two  small  hydatids  on  omenturn — gall-bladder  as  in  two 
preceding  cases — mesenteric  glands  as  in  preceding  cases.  Traces  of  diar- 
rhea. Thoracic  viscera  healthy. 

Case  5th.  Lamb.  External  appearance  as  in  preceding  cases — omen- 
turn  as  in  Case  3d,  and  small  hydatid  on  it — gall-bladder  as  in  three  pre- 
ceding cases — ditto  of  mesenteric  glands.  Thoracic  viscera  healthy. 

Case  6th.  Four-year-old  ram,  killed  for  examination,  in  the  first  stage- 
of  the  disease.  Yet  strong,  appetite  good,  in  fair  condition,  and  exhibited 
no  particular  external  indications  of  disease  except  running  at  the  eyes,  a 
slight  gummy  deposition  below  them — and  some  mucus  about  the  nostrils.. 
Oall-bladder  but  little  better  filled  than  in  preceding  cases — mesenteric' 
glands  same  as  in  preceding  cases.  Thoracic  viscera  healthy. 

Remarks  on  Preceding  Cases. — I  had  started  on  the  supposition  that 
the  fatal  disease  would  be  found  one  of  the  lungs,  consequent  on  ca- 
tarrh. I"  thought  it  might  prove  a  species  of  pneumonia,  though  some  of 
the  characteristic  symptoms  of  that  disease  seemed  to  be  wanting  ;  but  I 
believed  it  would  rather  prove  to  be  phthisis  pulmonalis,  or  pulmonary 
consumption.  To  the  last  disease,  when  it  assumes  the  form  of  what  is. 
popularly  called  "  quick  consumption,"  it  seemed  to  me  to  bear  several 
striking  analogies.  But  the  post-mortem  examinations  above  detailed,  en- 
tirely overthrow  these  suppositions.  Except  in  Case  2d,  there  were  no> 
manifestations  of  recent  inflammation  of  the  lungs.  The  adhesions  in  Case- 
3d,  were  evidently  referable  to  a  past  date.  In  the  other  four  cases,  the 
lungs  were  in  a  healthy  condition — exhibiting  not  a  trace  of  hepatization,.. 
tubercles,  ulcers,  or  other  abnormal  action  !  In  Case  6th,  where  the  dis- 
ease was  in  its  first  observable  and  therefore  inflammatory  stage,  none  of 
the  thoracic  viscera  presented  a  particle  of  inflammation  ! 

Then  what  was  the  disease  ?  It  was  evidently  the  same  in  the  several' 
cases,  yet  the  lesions  disclosed  by  post-mortem  examination  were  very  va- 
rious. Hence,  I  was  led  to  conclude  that  these  lesions  were  the  results 
of  symptomatic  disease,  and  that  \he  primary  one  was  not  yet  discovered., 

The  malady  continued  to  spread.  New  cases  occurred  daily — it  began 
to  exhibit  itself  in  my  other  flocks.  It  had  manifestly  put  on  the  charac- 
ter of  an  epizootic — or,  if  I  may  be  permitted  to  coin  a  word,  an  en-zo- 
otic.  I  now  gave  orders  to  have  every  sheep  removed  from  the  several  flocks,, 
its  soon  as  it  should  be  attacked  with  disease.  I  also  resolved  on  more  ex- 
tended post-mortem  examinations.  The  following  are  the  notes  taken  in. 
the  immediately  succeeding  cases. 

Case  7th.  Yearling.  External  appearance  as  in  the  preceding  cases — 
external  tissues  normal — mesenteiic  glands  slightly  enlarged — gall-blad- 
der of  natural  size,  with  good  bile,  and  with  the  natural  discolorations 
about  it.  Thoracic  viscera  healthy,  with  exception  of  pericardium,  which 
exhibited  traces  of  recent  inflammation  and  contained  a  gill  of  serum 


244  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE   SOUTH. 


The  thorax  also  contained  considerable  fluid,  which  escaped  without  ad- 
measurement. 

I  now  examined  the  bronchial  tubes,  the  lower  portions  of  the  windpipe, 
oesophagus,  &c.,  and  found  them  all  in  an  apparently  healthy  condition. 
Before  tracing  these  passages  to  the  throat,  I  removed  the  upper  portion 
of  the  skull  and  carefully  examined  the  brain  and  its  investing  mem- 
branes. All  seemed  in  a  perfectly  normal  state.  I  then  made  a  longitu- 
dinal section  down  through  the  middle  part  of  the  whole  head,  as  is  shown 
in  fig.  49,  and  the  seat  and  character  of  the  fatal  malady  stood  at  once 
revealed  ! 

The  mucous  membrane  lining  the  whole  nasal  cavity,  highly  congested 
and  thickened  throughout  its  whole  extent,  betrayed  the  most  intense  in- 
flammation. At  the  junction  of  the  cellular  ethmoid  bones  with  the  cribri- 
form plate,  (in  the  ethmoidal  cells,)  slight  ulcers  were  forming  on  the  mem- 
braneous lining!  The  inflammation  also  extended  to  the  mucous  mem- 
brane of  the  pharynx,  and  say  three  inches  of  the  upper  portion  of  the  oeso- 
phagus. Here  it  rather  abruptly  terminated. 

Case  8th.  Old,  in  lamb.  External  appearances  as  in  preceding  cases — 
abdominal  parietes  healthy-;— all  the  viscera  apparently  healthy.  The  in- 
flammation of  the  mucous  membrane  lining  the  nasal  cavity,  pharynx,  and 
upper  portion  of  oesophagus,  as  in  Case  7th,  only  not  quite  so  acute — no 
ulcers  on  the  membrane. 

Cases  5th  and  6th  reviewed.  The  heads  of  these  two  subjects  having 
neen  accidentally  preserved,  I  examined  them,  and  found  the  inflammatory 
action  of  the  mucous  membrane  same  as  in  cases  7th  and  8th.  Nor  have  I 
a  particle  of  doubt  that  the  same  would  have  been  found  the  case  in  all 
the  preceding  subjects,  had  they  been  examined. 

Nosology  and  Treatment. — I  had  little  difficulty  in  coming  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  primary  and  main  disease  was  a  species  of  catarrh.  It  evidently, 
however,  differed  from  ordinary  catarrh  in  its  diagnosis,  and  in  the  extent 
of  the  lesions  accompanying  both  the  primary  and  symptomatic  dis- 
eases. 

In  no  case,  even  in  the  first  attack,  did  I  notice  anything — the  fever— 
the  accelerated  pulse — the  redness  about  the  eyes  and  nostrils — the  cough- 
ing, etc.,  accompanying  an  ordinary  severe  attack  of  catarrh.  And  it  was 
•for  this  reason  that  I  was  misled  as  to  the  seat  of  the  malady.  From  the 
very  outset,  according  to  my  observations,  the  type  of  the  disease  was 
typhoid — sinking — rapidly  tending  to  fatal  prostration. 

How  to  reduce  the  local  inflammation  of  the  membrane  lining  the  nasal 
cavities,  I  was  at  a  loss  to  determine.  I  was  satisfied  that  there  was  too 
much  debility  to  admit  of  an  antiphlogistic  course  of  treatment.  Still,  to 
make  myself  sure,  I  bled  in  vhree  or  four  cases,  and,  as  I  anticipated,  it 
•evidently  accelerated  th§  fatal  catastrophe.  Blistering  could  not  be  brought 
•near  to  the  seat  of  the  inflammation,  excepting  on  the  nose,  and  independ- 
ent of  the  extreme  difficulty  of  treating  a  blister  on  a  spot  so  constantly 
exposed  to  dirt,  the  rubbing  of  hay,  etc.,  in  winter  feeding,  I  believed  it 
•could  have  little  effect,  on  an  account  of  the  thick  nasal  bone  intervening 
between  it  and  any  portion  of  the  inflamed  membrane.  And,  moreover, 
the  greater  portion  of  the  inflamed  membrane  rested  on  bones  detached, 
except  at  one  extremity,  from  all  connection  with  the  nasal  bone.  I  blew 
Scotch  snuff  (through  paper  tubes)  up  the  nostrils  of  some  of  the  sheep, 
for  two  objects — 1,  to  remove,  by  sneezing,  the  mucus,  which  mechanical- 
ly, and  evidently  injuriously,  obstructed  respiration ;  and  2,  to  produce  a 
new  action,  by  which  an  increased  mucous  secretion  would  be  excited, 
and  thus  the  congested  membrane  relieved.  But,  farther  than  this,  I  TO- 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  245 

sotted  to  no  local  or  other  treatment  designed  specifically  to  reach  the  local 
inflammation. 

The  next  step  was  to  fix  nn  the  constitutional  treatment.  The  liver  was 
evidently  in  a  torpid  state.  There  was  a  functional  derangement  in  the 
mesenteric  and  probably  other  glands,  and  a  want  of  activity  in  the  general 
secretory  system.  What  medicine  would  stimulate  the  liver,  cause  it  to 
secrete  the  proper  quantity  as  well  as  quality  of  bile,  change  the  morbid 
action  of  the  glands  and  secretory  system,  and  restore  activity  and  health 
to  the  vital  functions  generally?  In  my  judgment,  nothing  promised  so 
well  as  mercury ;  and  by  its  well  known  effect  on  the  entire  secretory  sys- 
tem, it  would  powerfully  tend  to  relieve  the  congested  membranes  of  the 
head.  In  this  opinion  I  was  joined  by  a  learned  and  experienced  physi- 
cian, who,  both  as  a  matter  of  taste  and  humanity,  has  given  no  little  at- 
tention to  veterinary  science  and  practice.  The  proto-chloride  of  mercury 
(calomel)  was  supposed  to  possess  too  much  specific  gravity  to  reach  the 
fourth  stomach,  with  any  certainty,  administered  in  a  liquid  ;  and  if  ad- 
ministered as  a  ball  or  pill,  it  would  be  almost  sure  not  to  reach  that  stom- 
ach.* The  dissolved  bi-chloride  of  mercury  (corrosive  sublimate)  was 
therefore  hit  upon.  One  grain  was  dissolved  in  two  ounces  of  water,  and 
one-half  ounce  of  the  water  (or  one-eighth  of  a  grain  of  corrosive  sublimate) 
was  exhibited  in  a  day,  in  two  doses. 

As  constipation  existed  in  most  of  the  cases,  it  was  thought  that  the 
bowels  required  to  be  stimulated  into  action,  and  slightly  evacuated  with 
a  mild  laxative.  Having  noticed  in  similar  cases  of  debility  and  torpor  of 
the  intestinal  cana.1,  that  purgation  is  often  followed  by  a  serous  diarrhea, 
difficult  lo  correct,  and  leading  to  rapid  prostration,  and  there  being  no  in- 
testinal irritation  to  suffer  exacerbation,  I  thought  that  rhubarb — from  its 
well  known  tendency  to  give  tone  to  the  bowels,  and  its  secondary  effect 
as  a  mild  astringent — was  particularly  indicated.  It  was  given  in  a  decoc- 
tion— the  equivalent  of  ten  or  fifteen  grains  at  a  dose — accompanied  with 
the  ordinary  carminative  and  stomachic  adjuvants,  ginger  and  gentian,  in 
infusion. 

To  a  portion  of  the  sheep  I  administered  the  rhubarb  and  its  adjuvants 
alone ;  to  others  I  gave  the  bi-chloride  of  mercury  in  addition  to  the  prece- 
ding. I  employed  these  courses  of  treatment  in  a  number  .of  cases,  the 
records  of  all  which  have  been  accidentally  destroyed  with  the  exception 
of  the  following  three. 

Case  9th.  Ram,  three  years  old.  Has  been  drooping  and  weak,  with 
feeble  appetite,  for  some  time — has  been  separated  from  flock.  Has  eaten 
his  oats  irregularly  for  several  days,  and  refused  turnips,  bran,  etc.,  alto- 
gether— much  emaciated — eyes  partly  closed,  with  a  yellowish  deposit 
below  them — caruncle  and  lids  bloodless — nostrils  impeded  with  adhesive 
yellowish  mucus. 

March  17th.  Weaker  than  before — would  not  rise  to  feed — not  seen  to 
eat  or  ruminate — gait,  when  helped  up,  weak  and  staggering ;  eyes  near- 
ly closed-^-stooled  dry,  hard  faeces — urine  dark  and  reddish.  Exhibited 
rhubarb  with  ginger  and  gentian  in  gruel — blew  snuff  into  nostrils.  March 
18th,  morning — Weaker;  refused  to  eat  anything.  Exhibited  rhubarb, 
ginger  and  gentian  in  gruel.  Noon — Urine  seemingly  bloody  :  breathing 
labored  :  exhibited  corrosive  sublimate  in  gruel.  Night — Dying.  March 
19th,  morning — Dead. 

Post-mortem  appearances.  Inner  edges  of  both  lobes  of  liver  softened 
about  two  inches  from  horizontal  fissure  :  hypropericarditis  and  hydro- 

*  For  reasons  vrhdch  will  be  hereafter  given  under  the  head  of  "  The  Proper  Way  of  Administeripf 
Kedicinoa." 


246  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


thorax — nearly  half  pint  of  serum  in  latter.  Other  viscera  apparently 
normal.  Lining  of  superior  portion  of  oesophagus  and  nasal  ca.vity  as  in 
Case  8th. 

Case  10th.  Three-year-old  ewe.  Drooping  for  several  days  :  sleepy — 
emaciated  and  weak :  cannot  rise  without  help  :  appearances  about  nos- 
trils and  eyes  as  in  Case  9th  :  appetite  considerable — rumination  not  ob- 
served. March  17th.  Exhibited  ginger  and  gentian  in  gruel :  blew 
enuff  in  nostrils.  Latter  produced  sneezing  and  a  discharge  of  mucus. 
18th  :  Morning.  Weaker  and  would  not  eat.  Noon.  A  little  live- 
lier :  ate  hay  and  grain  ;  exhibited  ginger  and  gentian.  Night.  Evac- 
uations thin:  urine  of  a  natural  color.  1 9th.  Morning:  same.  Noon. 
Exhibited  same  remedies  as  before.  The  same  course  was  pursued  for 
three  days  :  the  sheep  appearing  rather  to  gain,  when  one  morning  it  was 
found  dead.  No  post-mortem  examination  made. 

Case  llth.  Old  ewe.  Symptoms  precisely  as  in  Case  10th,  except  an 
occasional  grinding  of  the  teeth.  March  17th.  Treated  exactly  as  in  Case 
9th.  Lived  three  days  and  appeared  to  rally  a  little,  then  brought  forth  a 
Iamb  and  died.  Post-mortem  examination.  Abdominal  parietes  healthy 
— gall-bladder  filled  with  pale  bile  :  liver  normal  in  size  but  softened 
throughout  its  entire  extent,  and  pale  :  portions  of  it  paler  and  more  disor- 
ganized than  others  :  no  parasites  in  its  ducts.  Thoracic  viscera  normal. 
Sub-acute  inflammation  of  the  mucous  lining  of  the  nasal  cavity,  and  of  the 
superior  portion  of  the  oesophagus.  Slight  ulcer  in  the  ethmoidal  cells. 

I  made  various  other  post-mortem  examinations.  Some  of  the  viscera 
in  every  case  were  in  a  more  or  less  abnormal  state ;  but  there  was  the 
same  variety  in  the  locality  of  the  diseased  action  as  in  the  preceding 
cases.  But  so  far  as  the  seat  and  character  of  the  catarrhal  affection  was 
concerned,  it  was  uniform  in  every  case.  The  only  difference  was  in  in- 
tensity, as  exhibited  by  the  extent  of  the  lesions. 

Not  a  single  sheep  recovered  after  the  emaciation  and  debility  had  pro- 
ceeded to  any  great  extent !  One  such  only  lingered  along  until  shearing. 
Its  wool  gradually  dropped  off:  it  seemed  to  rally  a  little  once  or  twice, 
and  then  relapse  ;  and  it  perished  one  night  in  a  rain-storm.  In  the  gen- 
erality of  instances  the  time  from  the  first  observed  symptoms  until  death, 
varied  from  fen  to  fifteen  days.  A  few  died  in  a  shorter  time. 

In  the  three  cases  last  detailed,  the  disease  had  evidently  proceeded  too 
far  to  be  arrested  by  any  treatment.  I  much  regret  the  loss  of  the  records 
of  the  other  cases,  which  would  throw  farther  light  on  the  subject.  I 
thought  that  the  treatment  produced  favorable  effects  in  some  instances—- 
particularly when  resorted  to  at  the  commencement  of  the  disease.  At  all 
events,  some  of  the  sheep  recovered  under  the  treatment — particularly  un- 
der that  including  the  exhibition  of  the  bi-chloride  of  mercury — and  very 
few,  if  any,  recovered  without  any  treatment.  Candor  compels  me  to  say, 
however,  that  the  results  of  the  treatment  were  far  from  being  highly  sat- 
isfactory— that  the  cases  of  recovery  were  much  fewer  than  the  deaths.  I 
•have  merely  stated  what  I  believe  to  be  the  facts  in  the  premises;  I  do  not 
feel  prepared  to  make  any  recommendations. 

The  epizootic  gradually  abated  toward  spring,  and  my  flock  have  since 
been  in  perfect  health. 

Near  spring,  many  farmers  found  what  seemed  to  them  an  unusual  num- 
ber of  grubs  in  .the  head  (frontal  sinuses)  of  the  sheep  which  died  of  the 
prevailing  epizootic,  and  therefore  they  attributed  the  disease  to  this  cause, 
and  this  seems  to  be  the  prevailing  popular  opinion.  In  some  of  the  latest 
cases  in  my  flock,  I  discovered  more  or  less  grubs ;  and,  in  two  or  three 
'nstances  an  unusual  number.  In  other  cases  where  the  external  symj> 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  247 


toms  and  the  post-mortem  appearances  were  almost  identical,  no  grubs 
were  to  be  seen.  For  this  reason,  and  others  which  I  shall  assign  when 
treating  of  grub  in  the  head,  I  conclude  that  the  popular  opinion  is  erro- 
neous. 

THE  RDT.— The  existence  and  prevalence  of  the  Rot  in  the  United 
States  have  been  sufficiently  alluded  to  in  Letter  XIV.  Notwithstanding 
its  comparative  rareness  here,  so  far  as  is  known,  at  present,  I  think  it 
expedient  to  give  a  full  description  of  it.  It  may  be  more  prevalent 
hereafter,  or  it  may  be  found  peculiar  to  localities  where  sheep  have  not 
yet  been  introduced.  And  whether  so  or  not,  as  its  existence  will  often 
be  feared  and  suspected  in  diseased  flocks,  it  is  proper  that  the  flock- 
master  always  have  it  in  his  power  to  clearly  identify  this  terrible  des- 
troyer. 

The  diagnosis  of  the  disease  is  thus  given  by  Mr.  Spoon  er.* 

"  The  first  symptoms  attending  this  disease  are  by  no  means  strongly  marked ;  there  is 
no  loss  of  condition,  but  rather  apparently  the  contrary ;  indeed,  sheep  intended  for  the 
butcher  have  been  purposely  colhed  or  rotted  in  order  to  increase  their  fattening  propertiea 
for  a  few  weeks,  a  practice  which  was  adopted  by  the  celebrated  Bakewell.  A  want  of 
liveliness  and  paleness  of  the  membranes  generally  may  be  considered  as  the  first  symptoms 
of  the  disease,  to  which  may  be  added  a  yellowness  of  the  caruncle  at  the  corner  of  the 
eye.  Dr.  Harrison  observes,  '  when  in  warm,  sultry  or  rainy  weather,  sheep  that  are  grazing 
on  low  and  moist  lands  feed  rapidly,  and  some  of  them  die  suddenly,  there  is  fear  that  they 
have  contracted  the  rot.'  This  suspicion  will  be  farther  increased  if,  a  few  weeks  afterward, 
the  sheep  begin  to  shrink  and  become  flaccid  about  the  loins.  By  pressure  about  the  hips  at 
this  time  a  crackling  is  perceptible  now  or  soon  afterward,  the  countenance  looks  pale,  and 
upon  parting  the  fleece  the  skin  is  found  to  have  changed  its  vermilion  tint  for  a  pale  red, 
and  the  wool  is  easily  separated  from  the  pelt;  and  as  the  disorder  advances  the  skin  be- 
comes dappled  with  yellow  or  black  spots.  To  these  symptoms  succeed  increased  dullness, 
loss  of  condition,  greater  paleness  of  the  mucous  membranes,  the  eyelids  becoming  almost 
white  and  afterward  yellow.  This  yellowness  extends  to  other  parts  of  the  body,  and  a 
watery  fluid  appears  tinder  the  skin,  which  becomes  loose  and  flabby,  the  wool  coming  off 
readily.  The'  symptoms  of  dropsy  often  extend  over  the  body,  and  sometimes  the  sheep 
becomes  checkered,  as  it  is  termed — a  large  swelling  forms  under  the  jaw,  which,  from  the 
appearances  of  the  fluid  it  contains,  is  in  some  places  called  the  watery  poke.  The  duration 
of  the  disease  is  uncertain ;  the  animal  occasionally  dies  shortly  after  becoming  affected,  but 
more  frequently  it  extends  to  from  -three  to  six  months,  the  sheep  gradually  losing  flesh  and 
pining  away,  particularly  if,  as  is  frequently  the  case,  an  obstinate  purging  supervenes." 

Mr.  Youatt  thus  describes  the  post-mortem  appearances :  t 

"  When  a  rotted  sheep  is  examined  after  death,  the  whole  cellular  tissue  is  found  to  be 
mfiltrated,  and  a  yellow  serous  fluid  everywhere  follows  the  knife.  The  muscles  are  soft 
and  flabby :  they  have  the  appearance  of  being  macerated.  The  kidneys  are  pale,  flaccid, 
and  infiltrated. .  The  mesenteric  glands  enlarged,  and  engorged  with  yellow  serous  fluid. 
The  belly  is  frequently  filled  with  water  or  purulent  matter;  the  peritoneum  is  everywhere 
thickened,  and  the  bowels  adhere  together  by  means  of  an  unnatural  growth.  The  heart 
is  enlarged  and  softened,  and  the  lungs  are  filled  with  tubercles.  The  principal  alterations 
of  structure  .are  in  the  liver.  It  is  pale,  livid,  and  broken  down  with  the  slightest  pressure ; 
and  on  being  boiled  it  will  almost  dissolve  away.  When  the  liver  is  not  pale,  it  is  often 
curiously  spotted.  In  some  cases  it  is  speckled  like  the  back  of  a  toad.  Nevertheless,  some 
parts  of  it  are  hard  and  schirrous ;  others  are  ulcerated,  and  the  biliary  ducts  are  filled  with 
flukes.  Here  is  the  decided  seat  of  disease,  and  it  is  here  that  the  nature  of  the  malady  is 
to  be  learned.  It  is  inflammation  of  the  liver.  .  .  .  The  liver  attracts  the  principal  alien- 
tion  of  the  examiner :  it  displays  the  evident  effects  of  acute  and  destructive  inflammation ; 
and  still  more  plainly  the  ravages  of  the  parasite  with  which  its  ducts  are  crowded.  Here 
is  plainly  the  original  seat  of  the  disease — the  center  whence  a  destructive  influence  spreads 
on  every  side.  .  .  .  The  Fluke — the  Fasciola  of  Linnajus — the  Distoma  hepaticum  ut 
Rhodolphi — the  Planaria  of  Goese — is  found  in  the  biliary  ducts  of  the  sheep,  the  goat,  the 
deer,  the  ox,  the  horse,  the  ass,  the  hog,  the  dog,  the  rabbit,  the  guinea-pig,  and  various 
other  animals,  and  even  in  the  human  being.  It  is  from  three  quarters  of  an  inch  n  an  inch 
and  a  quarter  in  length,  and  from  one-third  to  half  an  inch  in  greatest  breadth. 

*  Spooner,  p.  391,  et  supra. 
t  Youatt,  p.  447,  et  supra. 


248  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

Figs.  56  and  58  represent  this  parasite  of  its  usual  size  and  appearance,  and  its  resem- 
blance to  a  minute  sole,  divested  of  its  fins,  is  very  striking.  The  head  is  of  a  pointed 
form,  round  above  and  flat  beuftath ;  and  the  mouth  opens  laterally  instead  of  vertically. 

Fig.  56.  Fig.  57.  Fig.  68. 


Fig.  59. 


THE    FLUKE. 


There  are  no  barbs  or  tentaculso,  as  described  by  some  authors.  The  eyes  are  placed  on  th« 
most  prominent  part  of  the  head,  and  are  very  singularly  constructed  (fig.  57).  They  have 
the  bony  ring  of  the  bird.  .  .  .  The  anastomoses  of  the  blood-vessels  which  ramify  over 
the  head  are  plainly  seen  through  a  tolerable  microscope.  The  circulating  and  digestive 
organs  are  also  evident,  and  are  seated  almost  immediately  below  the  head.  The  situation 
of  the  heart  is  seen  in  fig.  56,  and  the  two  main  vessels  evidently  springing  from  it,  and 
extending  through  almost  the  whole  length  of  the  fluke.  Smaller  blood-vessels,  if  so  they 
may  be  called,  ramify  from  them  on  either  side.  The  convolutions  of  the  bowels  appear  in 
fig.  59,  and  the  vent,  both  for  the  faeces  and  the  ova,  and  probably  for  the  connection  be- 
tween the  sexes,  is  on  the  under  part,  and  almost  close  to  the  neck 

In  the  belly,  if  so  it  may  be  called,  are  almost  invariably  a  very  great  number  of  oval 
particles,  hundreds  of  which,  taken  together,  are  not  equal  in  bulk  to  a  grain  of  sand.  They 
are  of  a  pale  red  color,  and  are  supposed  to  be  the  spawn  or  eggs  of  the  parasite 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  eggs  are  frequently  received  in  the  food.  Having  been 
discharged  with  the  dung,  they  remain  on  the  grass  or  damp  spot  on  which  they  may  fall, 
retaining  their  vital  principle  for  an  indefinite  period  of  time.  .  .  .  They  find  not  always,  or 
they  find  not  at  all,  a  proper  nidus  in  the  places  in  which  they  are  deposited ;  but  taken  up 
with  the  food,  escaping  the  perils  of  rumination,  and  threading  every  vessel  and  duct  until 
they  arrive  at  the  biliary  canal,  they  burst  from  their  shells,  and  grow,  and  probably  multi- 
ply  

Leeuwenhoek  says  that  he  has  taken  870  flukes  out  of  one  liver,  exclusive  of  those 
that  were  cut  to  pieces  or  destroyed  in  opening  the  various  ducts.  In  other  cases,  and 
where  the  sheep  have  died  of  the  rot,  there  were  not  found  more  than  ten  or  twelve.  .  .  . 

Then,  is  the  fluke  worm  the  cause  or  the  effect  of  rot  ?  To  a  certain  degree  both.  They 
aggravate  the  disease ;  they  perpetuate  a  state  of  irritability  and  disorganization,  which 

must  necessarily  undermine  the  strength  of  any  animal Notwithstanding  all  thi&, 

however,  if  the  fluke  follow  the  analogy  of  other  entoza  and  parasites,  it  is  the  effect  and 
not  the  cause  of  rot 

The  rot  in  sheep  is  evidently  connected  with  the  soil  or  state  of  the  pasture.  It  is  con- 
fined to  wet  seasons,  or  to  the  feeding  on  ground  moist  and  marshy  at  all  seasons.  It  ha» 
reference  to  the  evaporation  of  water,  and  to  the  presence  and  decomposition  of  moist  vege- 
table matter.  It  is  rarely  or  almost  never  seen  on  dry  or  sandy  soils  and  in  dry  seasons  ; 
it  is  rarely  wanting  on  boggy  or  poachy  ground,  except  when  that  ground  is  dried  by  the 
heat  of  the  summer's  eun,  or  completely  covered  by  the  winter's  rain.  On  the  same  farm 
there  are  certain  fields  on  which  no  sheep  can  be  turned  with  impunity.  There  are  other* 
that  seldom  or  never  give  the  rot.  The  soil  of  the  first  is  found  to  be  of  a  pervious  nature, 
on  which  wet  cannot  long  remain — the  second  takes  a  long  time  to  dry,  or  is  rarely  or 
never  so 

Some  seasons  are  far  more  favorable  to  the  development  of  the  rot  than  others,  and  there 
u>  no  manner  of  doubt  as  to  the  character  of  those  seasons.  After  a  rainy  summer  or  a 
moist  autumn,  or  during  a  wet  winter,  the  rot  destroys  like  a  pestilence.  A  return  and  a 
continuance  of  dry  weather  materially  arrests  its  murderous  progress.  Most  of  the  sheep 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  249 

that  had  been  already  infected  die  ;  but  the  number  of  those  that  are  lost  soon  begins  to  b« 
materially  diminished.  It  is,  therefore  sufficiently  plain  that  the  rot  depends  upon,  or  is 
caused  by,  the  existence  of  moisture.  A  rainy  season  and  a  tenacious  soil  are  fruitful  or 
inevitable  sources  of  it The  mischief  is  effected  with  almost  incredible  rapidity." 

Mr.  Youatt  here  gives  various  instances  to  prove  that  rot  is  engendered 
in  a  few  hours  and  even  minutes.  *  He  farther  says  : 

"  It  is  an  old  observation  that  all  pasture  that  is  suspected  to  be  unsound,  the  sheep  should 
be  folded  early  in  the  evening,  before  the  first  dews  begin  to  fall,  and  should  not  be  released 
from  the  fold  until  the  dew  is  partly  evaporated 

Then  the  mode  of  prevention— that  with  which  the  farmer  will  have  most  to  do,  for  the 
sheep  having  become  once  decidedly  rotten,  neither  medicine  nor  management  will  havn 
much  power  in  arresting  the  evil — consists  in  altering  the  character  of  as  much  of  the  dan 
gerous  ground  as  he  can,  and  keeping  his  sheep  from  those  pastures  which  defy  all  hia 

attempts  to  improve  them If  all  unnecessary  moisture  is  removed  from  the  soil,  or 

if  the  access  of  air  is  cut  off  by  the  flooding  of  the  pasture,  no  poisonous  gas  has  existence, 

and  the  sheep  continue  sound 

.  The  account  of  the  treatment  of  rot  must,  to  a  considerable  extent,  be  very  unsatis- 
factory. " 

Mr.  Youatt  proceeds  to  recommend  the  sale  of  sheep  to  the  butcfiw 
when  they  are  found  to  be  rotted  !  Rot  hastens  for  a  short  period  the 
accumulation  of  fat.  Bakewell — a  man  whose  name  is  associated  with 
the  exhibition  of  prodigious  abilities  in  the  improvement  of  stock,  but,  in 
my  mind  tarnished  also  by  an  equal  exhibition  of  selfishness  and  absolute 
meanness — displayed  a  characteristic  sagacity  in  purposely  rotting  his 
sheep  to  avail  himself  of  the  above  circumstance !  t  It  is  with  pain  f 
make  the  following  quotation  from  Youatt — the  only  thing  of  such  a  char- 
acter I  remember  to  have  noticed  in  his  voluminous  works  : 

•  It  is  one  of  the  characters  of  the  rot  to  hasten,  and  that  to  a  strange  degree,  the  accu- 
mulation of  flesh  and  fat.  Let  not  the  farmer,  however,  push  this  experiment  too  far.  I.ol 
him  carefully  overlook  every  sheep  daily,  and  dispose  of  those  which  cease  to  make  pro 
press,  or  which  seem  beginning  to  retrograde.  It  has  already  been  stated  that  the  meat  of 
the  rotted  sheep,  in  the  early  stage  of  the  disease,  is  not  like  thai  of  the  sound  one;  it  is 
pale  and  not  so  firm;  but  it  is  not  un wholesome  (!)  and  it  is  coveted  by  certain  epicures, 
«ofa,  perhaps,  are  not  altogether  aware  of  the  real  state  of  the  animal  (! !)  All  this  ie 
matter  of  calculation,  and  must  be  left  to  the  owner  of  the  sheep ;  except  that,  if  the  breed 
is  not  of  very  considerable  value,  and  the  disease  has  not  proceeded  to  emaciation  or  other 
fearful  symptoms,  the  first  loss  will  probably  be  the  least ;  and  if  the  owner  can  get  any- 
thing like  a  tolerable  price  for  them,  the  sooner  they  are  sent  to  the  butcher,  or  consumed 
at  home,  the  better.  Supposing,  however,  that  their  appearance  is  beginning  to  tell  tale* 
about  them,  and  they  are  too  far  gone  to  be  disposed  of  in  the  market  or  consumed  at  home, 
are  they  to  be  abandoned  to  their  fate  ?  No :  far  from  it.  " 

Conceding  to  Mr.  Youatt  the  whole  benefit  of  that  .saving  clause  ab.mi 
"  consumption  at  home,"  the  above  sentence  is  one  which  I  could  well 
wish  stricken  from  his  valuable  work.  The  sale  of  the  meat  of  diseased 
animals,  for  human  consumption,  is  abhorrent  to  decency  and  propriety, 
and  there  is  not  a  respectable  American  family  which  would  not  revolt  at 
the  idea  of  either  selling  or  consuming  such  meat. 

Of  the  treatment  of  rot,  Mr.  Youatt  continues  : 

"  If  it  is  suited  to  the  convenience  of  the  farmer,  and  such  ground  were  at  all  within  his 
roach,  the  sheep  should  be  sent  to  a  salt-marsh  in  preference  to  the  best  pasture  on  the  best 
farm.  There  it  will  feed  on  the  salt  incrusted  on  the  herbage,  and  pervading  the  pores  of 
every  blade  of  grass.  A  healthy  salt-marsh  permits  not  the  sheep  to  become  rotten  which 
graze  upon  it ;  and  if  the  disease  is  not  considerably  advanced,  it  cures  those  which  are  sent 
upon  it  with  the  rot.  .  .  .  Are  there  any  indications  of  fever — heated  mouth,  heaving 
flanks,  or  failing  appetite  ?  Is  the  general  inflammation  beginning  to  have  a  determination 
to  that  part  on  which  the  disease  usually  expends  its  chiefest  virulence  ?  Is  there  yellow 

*  Youatt,  p.  453. 

t  So  e»y  both  Spooner  and  YouaSL 


250  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 


ness  of  the  lips  and  of  the  mouth,  of  the  eyes,  and  of  the  skin  ?  At  the  same  tine,  a1"* 
there  no  indications  of  weakness  and  decay  ?  Nothing  to  show  that  the  constitution  is 
latally  undermined  ?  Bleed — abstract,  according  to  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  eight, 
ten,  or  twelve  ounces  of  blood.  There  is  no  disease  of  au  inflammatory  character  at  its 
commencement  which  is  not  benefited  by  early  bleeding.  To  this  let  a  dose  of  physic 
succeed — two  or  three  ounces  of  Epsom  salts,  administered  in  the  cautious  manner  so  fre- 
quently recommended ;  and  to  these  means  let  a  change  of  diet  be  immediately  added — 
good  hay  in  the  field,  and  hay,  straw,  or  chaff,  in  the  straw-yard. 

The  physic  having  operated,  or  an  additional  dose,  perchance,  having  been  administered 
in  order  to  quicken  the  action  of  the  first,  the  farmer  will  look  out  for  farther  means  and 

appliances Two  or  three  grains  of  calomel  may  be  given  daily,  but  mixed  with 

talf  the  quantity  of  opium,  in  order  to  secure  its  beneficial,  and  ward  off  its  injurious  effects 
on  the  ruminant.  To  this  should  be  added — a  simple  and  cheap  medicine,  but  that  which 

is  the  sheet-anchor  of  the  practitioner  here — common  salt In  the  first  place,  it  i»  a 

purgative  inferior  to  few,  when  given  in  a  full  dose ;  and  it  is  a  tonic  as  well  as  a  purgative. 
...  A  mild  tonic,  as  well  as  an  aperient,  is  plainly  indicated  soon  after  the  commencement 
of  rot.  The  doses  should  be  from  two  to  three  drachms,  repeated  morning  and  night.  When 
the  inflammatory  stage  is  clearly  passed,  stronger  tonics  may  be  added  to  the  salt,  and  there 
are  none  superior  to  the  gentian  and  ginger  roots ;  from  one  to  two  drachms  of  each,  finely 
powdered,  may  be  added  to  each  dose  of  the  salt.  ....  The  sheep  having  a  little  recov 
ered  from  the  disease,  should  still  continue  on  the  best  and  driest  pasture  on  the  farm,  and 
should  always  have  salt  within  their  reach The  rot  is  not  infectious." 

DIARRHEA. — This  disease  is  often  more  properly  a  nervous  than  a  febrile 
one — in  the  former  case,  a  morbid  increase  of  the  peristaltic  motion  of  the 
bowels — in  the  latter,  an  inflammation  of  the  mucous  coat  of  the  smallex 
intestines.  But  for  the  purpose  of  viewing  it  in  connection  with  dysen- 
tery, to  which  it  is  sometimes  closely  allied,  and  into  which  it  often  runs 
— and  which  is  clearly  a  febrile  disease — it  will  be  described  here. 

Conimon  diarrhea,  purging,  or  scours,  manifests  itself  simply  by  tho 
copiousness  and  fluidity  of  the  alvine  evacuations.  It  is  brought  on  by  a 
sudden  change  from  dry  feed  to  green,  or  by  the  introduction  of  im- 
proper substances  into  the  stomach.  It  is  important  to  clearly  distinguish 
this  disease  from  dysentery.  In  diarrhea  there  is  no  apparent  general 
fever ;  the  appetite  remains  good ;  the  stools  are  thin  and  watery,  but 
unaccompanied  with  slime  (mucus)  and  blood ;  the  odor  of  the  fasces  is 
far  less  offensive  than  in  dysentery ;  the  general  condition  of  the  animal  is 
but  little  changed. 

Treatment. — Confinement  to  dry  food  for  a  day  or  two,  and  a  gradual  re- 
turn to  it,  oftentimes  suffice.  I  have  rarely  administered  anything  to  grown 
sheep,  and  never  have  lost  one  from  this  disease.  To  lambs,  especially  if 
attacked  in  the  fall,  the  disease  is  more  serious.  If  the  purging  is  severe, 
and  especially  if  any  mucus  is  observed  with  the  faeces,  the  feculent  mat- 
ter should  be  removed  from  the  bowels  by  a  gentle  cathartic — as  half  a 
drachm  of  rhubarb,  or  an  ounce  of  linseed-oil,  or  half  an  ounce  of  Epsom 
salts  to  a  lamb.  This  should  always  be  followed  by  an  astringent,  and  in 
nine  cases  out  of  ten,  the  latter  will  serve  in  the  first  instance.  I  gener- 
ally administer,  say,  J  oz.  of  prepared  chalk  in  half  a  pint  of  tepid  milk, 
once  a  day  for  two  or  three  days,  at  the  end  of  which,  and  frequently  after 
the  first  dose,  the  purging  will  have  ordinarily  abated  or  entirely  ceased. 

The  following  is  the  formula  of  the  English  "  sheep's  cordial  "  usually 
prescribed  in  cases  of  diarrhea  by  the  English  veterinarians,  and  there  can 
be  no  doubt  it  is  a  safe  and  excellent  remedy — better  probably  than  sim- 
ple chalk  and  milk,  in  severe  cases  :  Take  of  prepared  chalk  one  ounce, 
powdered  catechu  half  an  ounce,  powdered  ginger  two  drachms,  and  pow- 
dered opium  half  a  drachm  ;  mix  them  with  half  a  pint  of  peppermint  wa- 
ter— give  two  or  three  table-spoonsfull  morning  and  night  to  a  grown 
thaep,  and  half  that  quantity  to  a  lamb 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  251 


DYSENTERY. — Dysentery  is  caused  by  an  inflammation  of  the  mucous  01 
inner  coat  of  the  larger  intestines,  causing  a  preternatural  increase  in  their 
secretions,  arid  a  morbid  alteration  in  the  character  of  those  secretions.  It 
is  frequently  consequent  on  that  form  of  diarrhea  which  is  caused  by  an 
inflammation  of  the  mucous  coat  of  the  smaller  intestines.  The  inflam- 
mation extends  throughout  the  whole  alimentary  canal,  increases  in  viru- 
lence, and  it  becomes  dysentery — a  disease  frequently  dangerous  and  ob- 
stinate in  its  character,  but  fortunately  not  common  among  sheep  in  this 
part  of  the  United  States.  Its  diagnosis  differs  from  that  of  diarrhea  in 
several  readily  observed  particulars.  There  is  evident  fever ;  the  appe- 
tite is  capricious,  ordinarily  very  feeble ;  the  stools  are  as  thin  or  even  thin- 
ner than  in  diarrhea,  but  much  more  adhesive  in  consequence  of  the  pres- 
ence of  large  quantities  of  mucus.  As  the  erosion  of  the  intestines  ad- 
vances, the  faeces  are  tinged  with  blood  ;  their  odor  is  intolerably  offensive ; 
and  the  animal  rapidly  wastes  away.  The  .course  of  the  disease  extends 
from  a  few  days  to  several  weeks. 

Treatment. — I  have  seen  but  a  few  well-defined  cases  of  dysentery, 
and  in  the  half-dozen  instances  which  have  occurred  in  my  own  flock, 
T  have  usually  administered  a  couple  of  purges  of  linseed-oil,  followed  by 
chalk  and  milk  as  in  diarrhea  (only  doubling  the  dose  of  chalk),  and  a  few 
drops  of  laudanum,  say  twenty  or  thirty — with  ginger  and  gentian.  Ac- 
cording to  my  recollection,  about  one-third  of  the  cases  have  proved  fatal, 
but  they  have  usually  been  old  and  feeble  sheep. 

Farther  inquiry  satisfies  me  that  moderate  bleeding  should  be  resorted 
to  in  the  first  or  inflammatory  stage  of  the  disease,  or  whenever  decided 
febrile  symptoms  are  found  to  be  present. 

Mr.  Youatt  prescribes  bleeding,  cathartics,  mashes,  gruel,  &c.  He 
says  : 

"  Two  doses  of  physic  having  been  administered,  the  practitioner  will  probably  have  re- 
course to  astringents.  The  sheep's  cordial  will  probably  supply  him  with  the  best ;  and  to 
this,  tonics  may  soon  begin  to  be  added — an  additional  quantity  of  ginger  may  enter  into  the 
composition  of  the  cordial,  and  gentian  powder  will  be  a  useful  auxiliary.  With  this — as 
an  excellent  stimulus  to  cause  the  sphincter  of  the  anus  to  contract,  and  also  the  mouths  of 
the  innumerable  secretory  and  exhalent  vessels  which  open  on  the  inner  surface  of  the  in- 
testine— a  half  grain  of  strychnine  may  be  combined Smaller  doses  should  be  given 

for  three  or  four  days." 

GARGET — Is  an  inflammation  of  the  udder,  with  or  without  gene- 
ral inflammation.  Where  simply  an  inflammation  of  the  udder,  it  is  usual- 
ly caused  by  a  too  great  accumulation  of  milk  in  the  latter  prior  to  lamb- 
ing, or  in  consequence  of  the  death  of  the  lamb.  It  is  not  the  serious  mala- 
dy, here,  described  by  the  English  veterinarians. 

Treatment. — Drawing  the  milk  partly  from  the  bag  so  that  the  hungry 
lamb  will  butt  and  work  at  it  an  unusual  time  in  pursuit  of  its  food,  arid 
bathing  it  a  few  times  in  cold*  water,  usually  suffices.  If  the  lamb  is  dead, 
the  milk  should  be  drawn  a  few  times,  at  increasing  intervals,  washing  the 
udder  for  some  time  in  cold  water  at  each  milking.  In  cases  of  obdurate 
induration,  the  udder  should  be  anointed  with  iodine  ointment.  If  there 
is  general  fever  in  the  system,  an  ounce  of  Epsom  salts  may  be  given. 

NEK-VOUS  DISEASES. 

APOPLEXY. — Soon  after  the  sheep  are  turned  to  grass  in  the  spring,  one  of 
3lie  best  conditioned  sheep  in  the  flock  is  sometimes  suddenly  found  dead. 

•  The  English  veterinarians  recommended  worn  fomentations. 


252  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH. 

The  symptoms  which  precede  the  catastrophe  are  occasionally  noted 
The  sheep  leaps  frantically  into  the  air  two  or  three  times,  dashes  itself 
on  tiie  ground  and  suddenly  rises,  arid  dies  in  a  few  moments.  Such 
cases  occur  but  now  and  then,  and  none  have  ever  occurred  in  my  flock 
to  my  knowledge.  I  have  therefore  had  no  opportunity  of  observing  the 
diagnosis,  or  making  dissections.  There  can  be  little  doubt,  however, 
that  the  disease  is  apoplexy. 

Desirous  to  raise  the  condition  of  a  poorisli  flock  (the  poorest  sheep 
culled  from  my  other  flocks)  somewhat  too  rapidly,  perhaps,  some  winters 
since,  in  addition  to  good  hay  three  times  a  day,  I  ordered  them  fed  a  gill 
of  oats  per  head  ;  and  as  rapidly  as  it  could  be  done  without  bringing  on 
scours,  I  had  them  fed  a  liberal  allowance  of  Swedish  turnips — about  as 
much  as  they  would  eat  up  clean.  They  gained  perceptibly.  One  day  a 
sheep  was  reported  to  me  as  having  become  suddenly  blind  and  motion- 
less. I  immediately  examined  it.  It  was  in  good  fair  condition.  It  stood 
with  its  head  a  little  down — its  eyes  were  glassy  and  staring — it  was  stone 
blind  !  The  evening  before  nothing  unusual  had  been  perceived  about  it. 
I  bled  it  at  the  inner  angle  of  each  eye,  and  the  blood  had  scarcely  started 
before  its  sight  began  to  return.  In  less  than  a  minute  it  walked  off 
among  its  companions.  It  had  no  relapse.  Another  case  was  soon  re- 
ported; I  treated  it  in  the  same  way,  and  with  the  same  apparent  effect. 
The  symptoms  soon  returned,  however,  and  I  bled  again.  This  appeared 
to  produce  but  a  partial  restoration  of  the  sight.  The  sheep  would  not 
follow  its  companions  into  and  out  of  the  sheep-house.  When  approach- 
ed, it  would  run  about  knocking  its  head  against  fences,  &c.  It  lost  con- 
dition, finally  became  unable  to  rise,  and  died.  Another  one,  after  being 
bled,  fed  regularly,  but  its  sight  was  never  restored.  It  lived  along  thus 
for  three  or  four  weeks,  and  then  fell  into  a  hole  containing  water,  and 
perished.  Another  apparently  recovered,  all  but  sight,  and  continued  in 
my  flock  for  more  than  a  year  afterward.  The  eye  was  bright  and  clear, 
as  in  gutta  serena,  and  the  blindness  would  not  be  suspected,  unless  the 
sheep  was  cornered  up.  Then,  if  the  catchers  remained  momentarily 
still,  it  would  as  soon  run  into  their  arms  or  against  the  fence,  as  in  any 
other  direction.  Perhaps  fifteen  cases  occurred.  In  three  or  four  instan- 
ces the  blind  sheep,  when  they  moved,  constantly  traveled  round  in  a 
circle.  In  about  as  many  cases,  they  twisted  themselves  about  without 
progressing,  the  head  was  drawn  round  toward  one  side,  they  fell,  ground 
their  teeth,  and  their  mouths  were  covered  with  a  frothy  mucus.  In 
neither  of  the  latter  description  of  cases  did  bleeding  at  the  inner  angles 
of  tne  *yes  afford  anything  more  than  temporary  relief.  They  all  proved 
fatal. 

At  the  time  these  things  occurred,  I  regret  to  say  that  I  had  paid  but 
very  little  attention  to  veterinary  science,  and  had  never  made  a  dissec- 
tion. I  did  nothing  but  bleed  at  the  inner  angles  of  the  eyes,  and  mado 
no  post-mortem  examinations. 

Taking  into  consideration  the  feed  and  the  symptoms,  there  can  be  but 
little  doubt,  I  think,  that  all  these  cases  were  referable  to  a  determination 
of  Hood  to  the  brain.  The  sheep  were  not  fat,  but  the  secretions  of 
blood  were  rapidly  and  powerfully  increased  by  rich  and  abundant  food. 

Treatment. — If  the  eyes  are  prominent  and  fixed,  the  membranes  of  the 
mouth  and  nose  highly  florid,  the  nostrils  highly  dilated,  and  the  respira- 
tion labored  and  stertorous,  the  veins  of  the  head  turgid,  the  pulse  strong 
and  rather  slow,  and  these  symptoms  attended  by  a  partial  or  entire  IOSH 
of  sight  and  hearing,  it  is  one  of  those  decided  cases  of  apoplexy  which 
require  immediate  and  decided  treatment.  As  the  good  effects  of  vene- 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.  253 

Bection,  in  all  cases,  and  especially  in  this,  depend  not  only  upon  the  amourii 
of  blood  abstracted,  but  also  upon  the  rapidity  with  which  it  is  drawr 
from  the  veins,  the  eye-veins  are  not  the  proper  ones  to  op^n.  They  are 
so  small  that  the  blood  flows  slowly,  and  if  cut  directly  across,  as  is  usually 
done,  they  soon  contract,  and  the  flow  of  blood  is  arrested  before  a  suffi- 
cient quantity  has  been  abstracted.  It  is  better  to  have  recourse  at  onco 
to  the  jugular  vein.  The  animal  should  be  bled  until  an  obvious  constitu 
tional  effect  is  produced — the  pulse  lowered  and  the  rigidity  of  the  muscles 
relaxed.  An  aperient  should  at  once  follow  bleeding,  and  if  the  animal  is 
strong  and  plethoric,  a  sheep  of  the  size  of  the  Merino  would  require  at 
least  two  ounces  of  Epsom  salts,  and  one  of  the  large  mutton  sheep  more. 
tf  this  should  fail  to  open  the  bowels,  half  an  ounce  of  the  salts  should  bs 
DC  given,  say,  twice  a  day. 

In  the  milder  cases  which  I  have  mentioned  as  occurring  in  my  own 
fiock,  I  think  had  I  bled  more  thoroughly,  in  the  very  first  attack,  and 
given  a  mild  aperient  of  Epsom  salts,  most  of  the  sheep  would  have  re- 
covered. 

PHRENITIS,  TETANUS,  EPILEPSY,  PALSY,  RABIES. — I  never  have  seen  a 
well-defined  case  of  either  of  these  maladies  among  our  sheep,  though, 
in  a  few  instances,  something  which  struck  me  at  the  time  as  somewhat 
analogous  to  paralysis  or  palsy.  Palsy  is  a  diminution  or  entire  loss  of 
the  powers  of  motion  in  some  part  of  the  body.  I  have  occasionally 
seen,  in  the  winter,  poor  lambs,  or  poor  pregnant  ewes,  or  poor  feeble 
ewes  immediately  after  yeaning  in  the  spring,  lose  the  power  of  walking 
or  standing  rather  too  suddenly  to  have  it  satisfactorily  referable  to  in- 
creasing debility.  The  animal  seems  to  have  lost  all  strength  in  its  loins, 
and  the  hind-quarters  are  powerless.  It  makes  ineffectual  attempts  to 
rise,  and  cannot  stand  if  placed  upon  its  feet. 

Treatment. — Warmth,  gentle  stimulants,  and  good  nursing,  might  raise 
the  patient,  but  in  nineteen  cases  out  of  twenty  it  would  be  more  econo- 
mical and  equally  humane,  to  at  once  deprive  it  of  life. 

COLIC. — Sheep  are  occasionally  seen,  particularly  in  the  winter,  lying 
clown  and  rising  every  moment  or  two,  and  constantly  stretching  their  fore 
and  hind  legs  so  far  apart  that  their  bellies  almost  touch  the  ground. 
They  appear  to  be  in  much  pain,  refuse  all  food,  and  not  unfrequently 
die,  unless  relieved.  This  disease  is  popularly  known  as  the  "  stretches" 
and  is  erroneously  attributed  to  int.rosusception  of  an  intestine.  Some 
farmers  worry  the  sheep  with  a  dog,  and  others  hold  it  up  by  the  hind 
re  i  I  consider  it  a  sort  of  flatulent  colic  induced  by 


to  effect  a  cure  !     I  consider  it  a  sort  of  flatulent  colic  induced  by 
costiveness. 

Treatment. — ftalf  an  ounce  of  Epsom  Falts,  a  drachm  of  ginger,  and 
sixty  drops  of  essence  of  peppermint.  The  salts  alone,  however,  will 
effect  the  cure,  as  will  an  equivalent  dose  of  linseed-oil,  or  even  hog's  lard. 


254  SHEEP    HUSBANDRY   IN    THE   SOUTH. 


LETTER  XVI. 

DISEASES  AND  THEIR  TREATMENT— (Continued ) 

Cachectic  Diseases...  Hydatid  on  the  Brain — diagnosis — common  methods  of  treating  it — treatment  of 
French  and  English  veterinarians... The  Pelt  Hot. ..Local  diseases... Grub  in  the  head— the  nature  at 
the  disease,  if  one — erroneous  popular  opinions — location  of  the  grub — description  of  the  fly  (CEstrua 
ovis) — method  of  attacking  the  sheep— conduct  of  the  sheep — appearance  of  the  larva — its  habits — the 
chrysalis— the  larva  found  in  the  heads  of  healthy  sheep — not  believed  to  be  the  cause  or  source  of  fatal 
disease — Mr.  Bracy  Clark's  and  Mr.  Youatt's  opinion — method  of  preventing  and  of  expelling  the  grub... 
Scab — nature  of  it — habits  of  the  acari — description  of  them— contagiousness  of  the  disease— post-mor- 
tem appearances — treatment... Erysipelatous  scab — treatment.  ..Disease  of  Biflex  Canal — nature  and 
treatment.  ..Hoof-ail — first  indications— erroneous  statements  of  foreign  veterinarians — of  Mr.  Youatt— 
author's  experience  with  it— diagnosis — chronic  hoof-ail—can  it  be  cured  ? — difficulties — preparation  of 
the  foot — ordinary  treatment — proper  treatment — cost  of  curing  a  flock — cheap  partial  remedies — sug- 
gestions—contagiousness  of  the  disease — how  communicated... Fouls— cause  and  treatment...  Broncho- 
cele  or  goitre— diagnosis— treatment... Miscellaneous  diseases... Poison  from  eating  Laurel — symptoms- 
treatment...  fiore  Face — cause  and  treatment...  Loss  of  cud — not  a  disease...  Hoove — cause — symptoms- 
cure...  Obstruction  of  Gullet,  or  choking — treatment... Fractures — treatment,  &c... Method  of  adminis- 
tering medicine  into  the  stomach... Method  of  bleeding... The  place  of  feeling  the  pulse... List  of  medi- 
cines employed  in  treating  the  diseases  of  Eheep... Ale. ..Aloes..  .Alum. ..Antimony. ..Arsenic. ..Blue 
Vitriol..  .Camphor...  .Carraway  seeds... .Catechu.. . .Chalk. . .Corrosive  Sublimate. . .Digitalis. . .Epsom 
Salta... Gentian. ..Ginger. ..Iodine. ..Lard. ..Lime,  carbonate  of.. .Lime,  chloride  of.... Linseed  Oil... 
Mercury...  Muriatic  Acid...  Nitrate  of  Potash...  Nitrate  of  Silver...  Nitric  Acid.  ..Opium...  Pepper. .. 

Pimento. ..Rhubarb. ..Salt. ..Sulphate    of  Iron... Sulphur.... Sulphuric  Acid.... Spirit  of  Tar Tar... 

Tobacco. . .  Turpentine . .  .Verdigris . . .  Zinc. 

CACHECTIC  DISEASES. 

HYDATID  ON  THE  BRAIN. — This  disease,  known  as  turnsick,  sturdy, 
staggers,  etc.,  is  spoken  of  by  Chancellor  Livingston,  and  other  writers 
of  reputation,  as  having  occurred  in  this  country  within  their  own  obser- 
vation. 1  have  never  seen  a  case  of  it,  and  shall  be  obliged,  therefore,  to 
make  use  of  the  descriptions  of  others.  Mr.  Spooner  says  : 

"  The  .symptoms  are  a  dull,  moping  appearance,  the  sheep  separating  from  the  flock,  a 
wandering  and  blue  appearance  to  the  eje,  and  sometimes  partial  or  total  blindness ;  tho 
sheep  appears  unsteady  in  its  walk,  will  sometimes  stop  suddenly  and  fall  down,  at  others 
gallop  across  the  field,  and  after  the  disease  has  existed  for  some  time  will  almost  constantly 
move  round  in  a  circle — there  seems,  indeed,  to  be  an  aberration  of  the  intellect  of  the 
nnimal.  These  symptoms,  though  rarely  all  present  iu  the  same  subject,  are  yet  sufficiently 
marked  to  prevent  the  disease  being  mistaken  for  any  other.  On  examining  the  brain  of 
sturdied  sheep,  we  find  what  appears  to  be  a  watery  bladder,  termed  a  hydatid,  which  may 
be  either  small  or  of  the  size  of  a  hen's  egg.  This  hydatid,  one  of  the  class  of  entozoSns 
has  been  termed  by  naturalists  the  hydatis  polycephalus  cerebralis,  which  signifies  the 
many-headed  hydatid  of  the  brain ;  these  heads  being  irregularly  distributed  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  bladder,  and  on  the  front  part  of  each  head  there  is  a  mouth  surrounded  by 
minute  sharp  hooks  within  a  ring  of  sucking  disks.  These  disks  serve  as  the  means  of 
attachment  by  forming  a  vacuum,  and  bring  the  mouth  in  contact  with  the  surface,  and  thus 
by  the  aid  of  the  hooks  the  parasite  is  nourished.  The  coats  of  the  hydatid  are  disposed 
in  several  layers,  one  of  which  appears  to  possess  a  muscular  power.  These  facts  are 
developed  by  the  microscope,  which  also  discovers  numerous  little  bodies  adhering  to  the 
internal  membrane.  The  fluid  in  the  bladder  is  usually  clear,  but  occasionally  turbid,  and 
Ihen  it  has  been  found  to  contain  a  number  of  minute  worms.  " 

According  to  Mr.  Youatt,  this  disease  attacks  many  of  the  weakly 
lambs  in  the  English  flocks.  It  usually  appears,  he  remarks,  "  during 
the  first  year  of  the  animal's  life,  and  when  he  is  about  or  under  sis 
months  old."  It  succeeds  a  "  a  severe  winter  and  a  cold,  wet  spring."— 
He  says : 

"  If  there  is  only  one  parasite  inhabiting  the  brain  of  a  sturdied  sheep,  its  situation  is  very 
uncertain.  It  is  mostly  found  beneath  the  pia-mater,  lying  upon  the  brain,  and  in  or  upon 
the  scissure  betwewn  the  two  hemispheres.  If  it  is  within  the  brain,  it  is  generally  in  one 
of  the  ventricles,  but  occasionally  iu  the  substance  of  the  brain,  and,  in  a  few  instances,  in 
&af  of  the  cerebellum  .... 


SHEEP   HUSBANDRY   IN    THE    SOUTH.  255 

This  is  a  singular  disease ;  but  it  is  a  sadly  prevalent  and  fatal  one  in  wet  and  moorish 

districts It  is  much  more  fatal  in  France  than  in  Great  Britain.  It  is  supposed 

that  nearly  a  million  of  sheep  are  destroyed  in  France  every  year  by  this  pest  of  the  ovin* 
race.  .  .  .  '. 

The  means  of  cure  are  exceedingly  limited.  They  are  confined  to  the  removal  or  de<» 
truction  of  the  vesicle.  Medicine  is  altogether  out  of  the  question  here." 

Many  barbarous  methods  have  been  adopted  to  rupture  the  hydatid, 
which  I  will  not  disgust  you  by  repeating.  Mr.  James  Hogg  thrust  a 
wire  up  the  nostrils  of  the  sheep,  and  through  the  plate  of  the  ethmoid 
bone  into  the  brain,  and  thus,  as  he  assures  us,  punctured  the  hydatid  and 
"cured  many  a  sheep  !"*  This  practice,  which  I  cannot  characterize 
otherwise  than  as  atrocious,  is  justly  condemned  by  Mr.  Youatt.  The 
dotted  lines  d,  e,  and  d,  d,  in  fig.  49,  show  how  limited  a  portion  of  the 
brain  could  be  reached  with  a  wire  or  trochar  by  piercing  the  plate  of  the 
ethmoid  bone — the  only  portion  of  the  walls  of  the  skull  thin  enough  to 
be  so  pierced  by  a  trochar  introduced  at  the  nostrils. 

Mr.  Parkinson  "  pulled  the  ears  very  hard  for  some  time,"  and  then  cut 
them  off  close  to  the  head  !  t 

Where  the  hydatid  is  not  imbedded  in  the  brain,  its  constant  pressure, 
singularly  enough,  causes  a  portion  of  the  cranium  to  be  absorbed,  and 
finally  the  part  immediately  over  the  hydatid  becomes  thin  and  soft 
enough  to  yield  under  the  pressure  of  the  finger.  When  such  a  spot  is 
discovered,  the  English  veterinarians  usually  dissect  back  the  muscular 
integuments,  remove 'a  portion  of  the  bone,  carefully  divide  the  investing 
membranes  of  the  brain,  and  then,  if  possible,  remove  the  hydatid  whole 
— or,  failing  to  do  this,  remove  its  fluid  contents.  The  membranes  and 
integuments  "are  then  restored  to  their  position,  and  an  adhesive  plaster1 
placed  over  the  whole.  The  French  veterinarians  usually  simply  punc- 
ture the  cranium  and  the  cist  with  a  trochar,  and  laying  the  sheep  on  its 
back,  permit  the  fluid  to  run  out  through  the  orifice  thus  made.  A  com- 
mon awl  would  answer  every  purpose  for  such  a  puncture.  The  puncture 
would  be  the  preferable  method  for  the  unskilled  practitioner.  But  when 
we  take  into  consideration  the  hazard  and  cruelty  attending  the  operation 
at  best,  and  the  conceded  liability  of  a  return  of  the  malady — the  growth 
of  new  hydatids — it  becomes  apparent  that,  in  this  country,  it  would  not 
be  worth  while,  unless  in  the  case  of  uncommonly  valuable  sheep,  to  resort 
to  any  other  remedy  than  depriving  the  miserable  animal  of  life. 

PELT  ROT — Is  classified  as  a  disease  by  Mr.  Livingston,  and  various 
other  American  writers.  Mr.  Livingston  says  : 

"  This  is  often  mistaken  for  the  scab,  but  it  is  in  fact  a  different  and  less  dangerout 
disease  ;  in  this  the  wool  will  fall  off,  and  leave  the  sheep  nearly  naked  ;  but  it  is  attended 
with  no  soreness,  though  a  white  crust  will  cover  the  skin  from  the  wool  which  has 
dropped.  It  generally  arises  from  hard  keeping  and  much  exposure  to  cold  and  wet.  ard, 
in  Fact,  the  animal  often  dies  in  severe  weather  from  the  cold  it  suffers  by  the  loss  of  its 
coat.  The  remedy  is  full  feeding,  and  a  warm  stall,  and  anointing  the  hard  part  of  the  skin 
with  tar,  oil,  and  butter,"  t 

I  have  seen  frequent  cases  of  the  pelt  rot,  but  never  have  done  any 
thing  for  it,  scarcely  considering  it  a  disease.     If  the  condition  of  a  poor 
sheep  is  raised  as  suddenly  as  practicable,  by  generous  keep  in  the  winter, 
the  wool  is  very  apt  to  drop  off,  and  if  yet  cold,  the  sheep  will  require 
warm  shelter. 

*  Hogg  on  Sheep,  p.  59. 

1  Parkuuson  on  Sheep,  vol.  1,  p.  412. 

I  Livingston  on  Sheep,  Appendix,  p.  179. 


256  SHEEP   HUSBANDRY   IN  THE    SOUTH. 

LOCAL  DISEASES. 

•*  GRUB  IN  THE  HEAD." — If  the  "  grubs  "  found  in  the  frontal  and  max- 
illary sinuses  of  the  sheep  actually,  in  any  case,  produce  disease,  it  must  be, 
in  my  judgment,  by  the  irritation  and  inflammation  which  they  induce  in 
the  mucous  membrane  which  lines  those  cavities.  The  popular  theory 
that  the  grub  causes  death  by  boring  through  the  bony  walls  which  sur- 
round the  brain,  and  attacking  the  substance  of  the  brain  itself,  is,  it  seems 
to  me,  utterly  absurd.  The  only  part  of  the  skull  where  it  could  even  be 
fancied  that  such  a  perforation  would  be  practicable,  is  the  cribriform  plate 
of  the  ethmoid  bone  (11  of  fig.  49,)  which  is  very  thin  and  is  pierced  with 
numerous  small  holes  for  the  passage  of  nerves.  But  an  inspection  of  the 
same  figure  will  show  that  the  sinus  where  the  parasite  is  generally  found 
lodged,  is  not  in  immediate  juxtaposition  with  the  cribriform  plate,  and 
that  a  passage  from  the  former  to  the  brain,  would  lead  directly  through 
the  frontal  bono — the  thickest  one  of  the  whole  cranium.  I  never  saw  but 
one  grub  in  the  cells  of  the  ethmoid  bone  near  the  cribriform  plate,  and 
that,  I  judged  at  the  time,  was  thrown  there  accidentally  by  the  violence 
attending  the  opening  of  the  head.*  But  if  the  grub  actually  penetrates 
to  the  brain,  the  fact  would  readily  be  disclosed  after  death.  The  full- 
grown  grub  would  necessarily  leave  an  orifice  of  considerable  diameter 
through  the  skull.  Who  has  seen  any  such  orifice  in  the  cribriform  plate 
or  elsewhere  1  Who  has  seen  any  orifice  but  the  natural  ones  of  the  crib- 
riform plate,  filled  with  the  nerves  which  pass  through  them  ?  The  farmer 
splits  open  the  head  of  a  sheep  with  an  ax,  cutting,  mangling  and  scatter- 
ing its  contents,  by  the  repeated  blows  necessary  to  effect  his  purpose. — 
Under  such  circumstances  grubs  are  sometimes  found  scattered  through 
all  the  nasal  cavities— over  and  among  the  brains — and  on  the  ground.—* 
The  proof  is  just  as  strong,  here,  that  prior  to  opening  the  head,  some  of 
the  grubs  were  on  the  ground,  as  that  they  were  in  the  brain  ! 

The  "  grub  "  of  popular  parlance  is  the  larva  of  the  (Estrus  ovis,  or  gad-fly 
of  the  sheep.    The  latter  is  represented  of  the  nat- 
ural size  in  figures  60  and  61.     It  is  composed  of 
five  rings.     It  is  tiger-colored  on  the  back  and 
belly,  sprinkled  with  spots  and  patches  of 'brown. 
The  wings  are  striped.     The  comparative  propor- 
tions of  the  head,  corslet,  wings,  etc.  are  sufficient- 
ly seen  in  the  cuts.     He  who  desires  a  full,  scien- 
tific description  of  these  insects,  or  who  would          SHEEP  GAD-FLY. 
fully  investigate  their  habits  and  economy,  will  do 

well  to  consult  the  excellent  monograph  of  them  by  Mr.  Bracy  ClarK 
the  celebrated  veterinarian. 

The  sheep  gad-fly  is  led  by  instinct  to  deposit  its  eggs  within  the  nos 
trils  of  the  sheep.  Its  attempts  to  do  this,  most  common  in  July  and  Au- 
gust, are  always  indicated  by  the  sheep,  which  collect  in  close  clumps 
with  their  heads  inward  and  their  noses  thrust  close  to  the  ground,  and  in-. 
to  it,  if  any  loose  dirt  or  sand  is  within  their  reach.  If  the  fly  succeeds  in 
depositing  its  egg,  it  is  immediately  hatched  by  the  warmth  and  moisture 
of  the  part,  and  the  young  grubs,  or  larvae,  crawl  up  the  nose,  finding  their 
devious  way  to  the  sinuses,  where,  by  means  of  their  tentaculse,  they  at- 
tach themselves  to  the  mucous  membrane  lining  those  cavities.  During 
the  ascent  of  the  larvae,  the  sheep  stamps,  tosses  its  head  violently,  and  ofr 
ten  dashes  away  from  its  companions  wildly  over  the  field.  The  larvae  re- 

*  The  head  was  cloven  with  an  ax  !    It  is  proper  to  pay,  however,  that  various  writers  epeak  of  having 
fenukl  the  grubs  in  the  ethmoid  cells,  and  indeed  in  all  the  nasal  cavitiea. 


SHEEP    HUSBANDRY    IN    THE    SOUTH. 


257 


main  in  the  sinuses  feeding  on  the  mucus  secreted  by  the  membrane,  and 
apparently  creating  no  farther  annoyance,  until  ready  to  assume  their  pu- 
pa form  in  the  succeeding  spring.  Figures  62  and  63  give  the  shape  an^ 
an  upper  and  under  view  of  the  full-grown  larva. 


Fig.  62. 


Fig.  C3. 


THE  "GRUB"  OR  LARVA  OF  THE  SHKEP  GAD-FLY. 

The  body  consists  of  eleven  rings,  colorless  in  the  young  grub,  but  tne 
elevated  portions  growing  darker  with  age,  and  becoming  a  dark  brown 
when  the  full  size  is  attained.  There  are  round  spots  of  a  still  darker 
color  on  each  of  these  bands.  At  the  edges  of  the  rings  are  a  few  short 
hairs,  and  lower  down  some  round  darkish  spots,  as  shown  in  fig.  62. — 
Small  red  spines,  as  shown  in  fig.  63,  cover  the  space  between  the  rings 
on  the  belly.  The  remainder  of  the  body  (with  the  exception  of  the  poste- 
rior stigmata.)  is  white.  The  tentaculae,  as  well  as  certain  appendages  on 
each  side  of  the  anus,  the  purposes  of  which  have  not  been  discovered,  are 
seen  in  fig.  63. 

The  larva  having  remained  in  the  sinuses  through  the  fall  arid  winter, 
abandons  them  as  the  warm  weather  advances  in  the  latter  part  of  spring. 
It  crawls  down  the  nose,  creating  even  greater  irritation  and  excitement 
than  when  it  originally  ascended,  drops  on  the  ground,  and  rapidly  bur- 
rows into  it.  In  a  few  hours  its  skin  has  contracted,  become  of  a  dark 
brown  color,  and  it  has  assumed  the  form  of  a  chrysalis,  as  seen  in  fig.  64. 
Or  rather,  this  figure  exhibits  the  shell  of  the  chrysalis,  af- 
ter the  escape  of  the  fly  ;  and  fig.  65  shows  the  upper  ex-  Fig'-4' 
tremity  or  head  of  the  pupa,  detached  by  the  fly  in  its  es- 
cape. 

The  experiments  of  Valisnieri  go  to  show  that  the  CEs- 
trus  ovis  never  eats — :and  this  is  the  received  opinion. — 
The  male,  after  impregnating  two  or  three  females,  dies, 
and  the  latter  having  deposited  their  ova  in  the  nostrils 
of  the  sheep,  also  soon  perish. 

The  larva  in  the  heads  of  sheep  may,  and  probably  do 
add  to  the  irritation  of  those  inflammatory  diseases,  such  as  catarrh,  which 
attack  the  membraneous  lining  of  the  nasal  cavities  ;  and  they  are,  as  we 
have  seen,  a  powerful  source  of  momentary  irritation  in  the  first  instance, 
when  ascending  to  and  descending  from  their  lodging-place  in  the  head. 
But  in  the  interval  between  these  events — extending  over  a  period  of 
several  months — not  a  movement  of  the  sheep  indicates  the  least  annoy- 
ance at  their  presence,  or  reveals  to  the  veterinarian  whether  they  exist  in 
the  sinuses  or  not.  It  would  be  very  difficult  to  believe  that  all  the  local 
irritation  which  these  parasites  could  cause,  would  be  sufficient  to  termi- 
nate life,  and,  so  far  as  my  observation  has  extended,  post-mortem  exam- 
ination discloses  no  lesions  which  would  in  anywise  sanction  such  belief. 
The  larvse,  moreover,  are  found,  at  the  proper  season,  in  the  heads  of  near- 
ly all  sheep — the  healthy  as  well  as  the  diseased — and  I  never  have  been 
able  to  ascertain  that  the  number  of  them  is  greater,  on  the  average,  in  the 
heads  of  those  sheep  which  were  supposed  to  have  fallen  victims  to  their 
attacks,  than  in  the  hea'ds  of  perfectly  healthy  sheep  slaughtered  for  the 
table.  And  to  prove  that  the  popular  ideas  on  the  subject  are  but  vague 

2K 


SHELL 
OF   CHRYSALIS. 


•258  SHEEP    HUSBANDRY   IN    THE    SOUTH. 

and  crude — not  the  result  of  that  long  and  close  comparison  of  symptoms, 
results,  and  post-mortem  appearances,  which  would  give  weight  to  the 
opinions  of  the  most  unerudite — we  have  but  to  notice  a  few  of  the  cases 
popularly  referred  to  the  "  grub  in  the  head."  A  sheep  in  the  highest 
condition  and  apparent  health  leaps  into  the  air  two  or  three  times,  and 
suddenly  dies,  and  if  a  grub  can  be  found  in  the  cavities  of  the  head,  that 
is  the  undoubted  destroyer.  Another  wastes  away  for  months  and  dies 
lingeringly,  a  mere  skeleton,  and 'the  same  proof  establishes  the  same  fact. 
Whether  there  has  been  fever  or  no  fever — whether  there  has  been  obsti- 
nate constipation,  or  equally  obstinate  dysentery — whether  one  viscus  or 
another  exhibit  traces  of  abnormal  action — whether  the  disease  has  been 
acute  or  chronic — in  a  word,  whatever  the  form  or  character  of  the  mal- 
ady— however  diametrically  different  the  diagnosis  and  the  lesions,  it  is  a 
clear  case  of  4t  grub  in  the  head,"  if  two  or  three  of  those  parasites  are 
found  there  ! 

Mr.  Bracy  Clark  and  Mr.  Youatt,  so  far  from  regarding  the  larva  of  the 
(Estrus  ovis  as  the  cause  of  a  fatal  disease,  suggest  that  they  may  even 
promote  the  health  of  the  sheep  by  diminishing  the  tendency  to  cerebral 
disease — especially  determinations  of  blood — by  establishing  counter  irri- 
tation !  Mr.  Spooner  does  not  speak  of  their  producing  fatal  effects  in 
any  instances,  nor  am  I  aware  that  any  late  scientific  veterinarians  do. 

Treatment. — Though  the  presence  of  the  grub  constitutes  no  disease, 
some  think  it  well  to  diminish  their  number  by  all  convenient  means. — 
One  simple  way  of  effecting  this  is  by  turning  up  with  a  plow  a  furrow  of 
earth  in  the  sheep  pasture.  Into  this  the  sheep  will  thrust  their  noses  on 
the  approach  of  the  (Estrus,  and  thus  many  of  them  escape  its  attacks. — 
Some  farmers  smear  the  noses  of  their  sheep  with  tar  occasionally,  during 
the  proper  season — the  odor  of  which  is  believed  to  repel  the  fly.  Others 
compel  the  sheep  to  smear  their  own  noses  every  week  or  two,  by  feed- 
ing them  their  salt  sprinkled  over  tar.  Blacklock  says  that  the  larvae  may 
be  dislodged  even  from  the  sinuses,  by  blowing  tobacco  smoke  for  some 
moments  through  the  tail  of  a  pipe  into  each  nostril.  I  have  never  tried 
the  experiment. 

THE  SCAB. — The  scab  is  a  cutaneous  disease,  analogous  to  the  mange 
in  horses  and  the  itch  in  men.  It  is  caused  and  propagated  by  a  minute 
insect,  the  acarus.  M.  Walz,  a  German  veterinarian,  who  has  thrown 
great  light  on  the  habits  of  these  parasites,  says  : 


little  swelling  may  be  detected  with  the  finger,  and  the  skin  changes  its  color,  and  has  a 
greenish  blue  tint.  The  pustule  is  now  rapidly  formed,  and  about  the  sixteenth  day  breaks, 
and  the  mothers  again  appear,  with  their  little  ones  attached  to  their  feet,  and  covered  by 
a  portion  of  the  shell  of  the  egg  from  which  they  have  just  escaped.  These  little  ones  im- 
mediately set  to  work,  and  penetrate  the  neighboring  skin,  and  bury  themselves  beneath  it, 
and  find  their  proper  nourishment,  and  grow  and  propagate,  until  the  poor  animal  has  myri- 
ads of  them  to  prey  on  him,  and  it  is  not  wonderful  that  he  should  speedily  sink.  Some  of 
the  male  acari  were  placed  on  the  sound  skin  of  a  sheep,  and  they  too  burrowed  their  way 
and  disappeared  for  a  while,  and  the  pustule  in  due  time  arose  ;  but  the  itching  and  the 
scab  soon  disappeared  without  the  employment  of  any  remedy. 

The  figures  on  the  next  page  are  copied  from  M.  Walz's  work  : 
The  female  acarus  brings  forth  from  eight  to  fifteen  young  at  a  litter. 
The  scab  is  often  produced  spontaneously  in  England  by  mismanage- 
ment  of   various  Junds,  such    as  "  bad  keep,  starvation,  hasty   driving, 
dogging,  and  exposure  afterward  Lo  cold  and  wet ;"  and  it  spreads  rapidly 


SHEEP    HUSBANDRY    IN    THE    SOUTH.  259 


by  contagion.  It  is  very  prevalent  there,  and  annually  causes  an  immense 
loss  in  the  wool  and  flesh  of  the  British  flocks.  In  the  United  States  it  is 
comparatively  little  known,  and  so  far  as  I  am  able  to  learn,  never  origin- 
ates spontaneously.  It  is  a  singular  fact  that  short-wooled  sheep,  like  the 

Fig.  66.  Fig.  67.  Fig.  68. 


THE  ACARUS  WHICH  CAUSES  SCAB. 

Fig.  67. — The  acarl  of  their  natural  size  on  a  dark  ground. 

Fig.  66.— The  female  of  366  times  the  natural  size,  larger  than  the  male,  of  an  oval  form,  and  provide* 
»Uh  eight  feet,  four  before  and  four  behind. 
a. — The  sucker. 

b.  b.  b.  b. — The  four  anterior  feet,  with  their  trumpet-like  appendices. 

c.  e. — The  two  interior  hind  feet. 

d.  d.— The  two  outward  feet,  the  extremities  of  which  are  provided  with  some  long  hairs,  and  on  thar 
other  parts  of  the  legs  are  shorter  hairs.    To  these  hairs  the  young  ones  adhere,  when  they  first  escapee 
from  the  pustule. 

e. — The  tail,  containing  the  anus  and  vulva,  garnished  with  some  short  hairs. 

Fig.  68. — The  male  on  ita  back,  and  eeen  by  the  same  magnifying  power. 

a.— The  sucker. 

6.  b.  b.  b. — The  fore-legs  with  their  trumpet-like  appendices,  as  seen  in  the  female. 

e.  c.— The  two  hind-legs,  with  the  same  appendices  and  hairs. 
d. — The  rudiments  of  the  abdominal  feet. 

e.— The  tail. 

Merino,  are  much  less  subject  to  its  attacks,  and  this  is  probably  one 
reason  for  its  little  comparative  prevalence  in  the  United  States.  Mr.; 
Youatt  observes : 

"  The  old  and  unhealthy  sheep  are  first  attacked,  and  long-wooled  sheep  in  preference  to 
the  short ;  a  healthy  short-wooled  sheep  will  long  bid  defiance  to  the  contagion,  or  probably 
escape  it  altogether." 

It  spreads  from  individual  to  individual  and  from  flock  to  flock,  not  only 
by  means  of  direct  contact,  but  by  the  acari  left  on  posts,  stones,  and  other 
substances  against  which  diseased  sheep  have  rubbeid  themselves.  Healthy 
sheep  are  therefore  liable  to  contract  the  malady  if  turned  on  pastures  pre- 
viously occupied  by  scabby  sheep,  though  some  considerable  time  may 
have  elapsed  since  the  departure  of  the  latter. 

The  sheep  laboring  under  the  scab  is  exceedingly  restless.  It  rubs  it- 
self with  violence  against  trees,  stones,  fences,  &c.  It  scratches  itself 
with  its  feet,  and  bites  its  sores  and  tears  off  its  wool  with  its  teeth.  A* 
the  pustules  are  broken,  their  matter  escapes,  and  forms  scabs  covering' 
red,  inflamed  sores.  The  sores  constantly  extend,  increasing  the  misery 
of  the  tortured  animal.  If  unrelieved,  he  pines  away  and  soon  perishes. 

I  have  never  had  an  opportunity  to  observe  the  post-mortem  appear* 
ances.  Mr.  Youatt  says : 

"  The  post-mortem  appearances  are  very  uncertain  and  inconclusive.  There  is  generally, 
chronic  inflammation  of  the  intestines,  with  the  presence  of  a  great  number  of  worms.  The 
liver  is  occas'.onally  schirrous.  and  the  spleen  enlarged ;  and  there  are  frequently  serous  efib 


260  SHEEP    HUSBANDRY    IN    THE    SOUTH. 


«ions  in  the  belly,  and  sometimes  in  the  chest.     There  has  bt  en  evident  sympathy  belweei 
the  digestive  and  the  cutaneous  systems." 

Treatment. — About  twelve  years  since,  I  purchased  150  fme-woolcd 
sheep  just  driven  into  the  county  from  a  considerable  distance.  I  placed 
them  on  a  farm  then  owned  by  me,  in  another  town,  and  did  not  see  them 
for  about  three  weeks.  One  of  my  men  then  reported  to  me  that  the  sheep 
were  amiss — that  they  were  shedding  off  their  wool — sore  spots  were  be- 
ginning to  show  on  them — and  that  they  rubbed  themselves  against  the 
fence-corners,  &c.  Though  I  had  never  seen  the  scab,  I  took  it  for  granted 
that  this  was  the  disease.  No  time  was  to  be  lost,  as  I  had  700  other 
sheep  on  the  farm — though  fortunately,  thus  far,  the  new  comers  had  been 
kept  entirely  separate  from  them.  Barely  looking  into  Mr.  Livingston's 
work  for  a  remedy,  I  provided  myself  with  an  ample  supply  of  tobacco 
and  set  out.  The  sheep  had  been  shorn,  and  their  backs  were  covered 
with  scabs  and  sores.  They  evidently  had  the  scab.  I  had  a  large  potash 
Kettle  sunk  partly  in  the  ground  as  an  extempore  vat,  and  an  uriweighed 
quantity  of  tobacco  put  to  boiling  in  several  other  kettles.  The  only  caro 
was  to  have  enough  of  the  decoction,  as  it  was  rapidly  wasted,  and  to  have 
it  strong  enough.  A  little  spirits  of  turpentine  was  occasionally  thrown  on 
the  decoction,  say  to  every  third  or  fourth  sheep  dipped.  It  was  neces- 
sary to  use  it  sparingly,  as,  not  mixing  with  the  fluid  and  floating  on  the 
surface,  too  much  of  it  otherwise  came  in  contact  with  the  sheep.  Not  at- 
tending to  this  at  first,  two  or  tbree  of  the  sheep  are  thrown  into  great  ag- 
ony, arid  appeared  to  be  on  the  point  of  dying.  I  had  each  sheep  caught 
and  its  scabs  scoured  off",  by  two  men  who  rubbed  them  with  stiff  shoe- 
brushes,  dipped  in  a  suds  of  .tobacco- water  and  soft  soap.  The  two  men 
then  dipped  the  sheep  all  over  in  the  large  kettle  of  tobacco- water,  rub- 
bing and  kneading  the  sore  spots  with  their  hands  while  immersed  in  the 
fluid.  The  decoction  was  so  strong  that  many  of  the  sheep  appeared  to  be 
sickened  either  by  immersion  or  by  its  fumes  ;  and  one  of  the  men  who 
dipped,  though  a  tobacco-chewer,  vomited,  and  became  so  sick  that  his 
.place  had  to  be  supplied  by  another. 

The  effect  on  the  sheep  was  almost  magical !  The  sores  rapidly  healed, 
the  sheep  gained  in  condition,  the  new  wool  immediately  started,  and  i 
never  had  a  more  perfectly  healthy  flock  on  my  farm.  Though  adminr: 
ttered  with  little  reference  to  economy,  the  remedy  was  a  decisive  one. — 
With  a  vat  like  fig.  27,  (Letter  XII,)  this  would  not  necessarily  be  a  very 
'expensive  method,  with  sheep  recently  sheared.  But  the  assaults  of  the 
scab  usually  come  on  in  the  spring  before  shearing  time,  and  it  would  re- 
rquire  an  immense  quantity  of  the  tobacco  decoction  to  dip  sheep  with  their 
'fleeces  on,  however  carefully  it  might  be  pressed  out. 

The  following  is  the  remedy  recommended  by  Chancellor  Livingston  : 

"  First,  I  separate  the  sheep  (for  it  is  very  infectious)  ;  I  then  cut  off  the  wool  as  fir  .as  the 
tskin  feels  hard  to  the  finger  ;  the  scab  is  then  washed  with  soap-suds,  and  rubbed  hard"  with 
a  shoe-brush,  so  as  to  cleanse  and  break  the  scab.  I  always  keep  for  this  use  a  decoction 
cf  tobacco,  to  which  I  add  one-third  by  measure  of  the  lye  of  wood  ashes,  as  much  hog's-lard 
as  will  be  dissolved  by  the  lye,  a  small  quantity  of  tar  from  the  tar-bucket,  which  contains 
.grease,  and  ab^nt  one-eighth  of  the  whole  by  measure  of  spirits  of  turpentine.  This  liquor 
is  rubbed  upon  the  part  infected,  and  spread  to  a  little  disutnce  round  it,  in  three  washings, 
with  an  interval  of  three  days  each.  I  have  never  failed  in  this  way  to  eftect  a  cure  when 
the  disorder  was  only  partial.  ...  1  cannot  say  whether  it  would  cure  a  sheep  infected 
«o  as  to  lose  half  its  fleece."* 

The  following  remedies  are  much  used  in  Great  Britain  : 

No.  1. — Dip  the  sheep  in  an  infusion  of  arsenic,  in  the  proportion  of 

»l.iTmg8ton'8  Essay.    Appendix  p.  177. 


S1IEEP    HUSBANDRY    IN    THE    StUTII..  261 

half  a  pound  of  arsenic  to  twelve  gallons  of  water.  The  sheep  should  pre- 
viously be  washed  in  soap  and  water.  The  infusion  must  not  be  per- 
mitted to  enter  the  mouth  or  nostrils. 

No.  2. — Take  common  mercurial  ointment,  for  bad  cases,  rub  it  own 
with  three  times  its  weight  of  lard — for  ordinary  cases,  five  times  its  weight 
of  lard.  Rub  a  little  of  this  ointment  into  the  head  of  the  sheep.  Part  the 
wool  so  as  to  expose  the  skin  in  a  line  from  the  head  to  the  tail,  and  then 
apply  a  little  of  the  ointment  with  the  finger  the  whole  way.  Make  a  sim- 
ilar furrow  and  application,  on  each  side,  four  inches  from  the  first,  and  so 
on  over  the  whole  body.  The  quantity  of  ointment  (after  being  com- 
pounded with  the  lard)  should  not  exceed  two  ounces,  and  considerably 
less  will  generally  suffice.  A  lamb  requires  but  one-third  as  much  as  a 
grown  sheep.  This  will  generally  cure,  but  if  the  sheep  should  continue 
to  rub  itself,  a  lighter  application  of  the  same  should  be  made  in  ten  days. 

No.  3. — Take  of  lard  or  palm  oil  2  Ibs.,  oil  of  tar  J  lb.,  sulphur  1  Ib. — 
Gradually  mix  the  last  two,  then  rub  down  the  compound  with  the  first. — 
Apply  in  the  same  way  as  No.  2. 

No  4. — Take  of  corrosive  sublimate  \  lb.,  white  hellebore,  powdered,  J 
11).,  whale  or  other  oil  6  gallons,  rosin  2  Ibs.,  tallow  2  Ibs.  "  The  first  two 
to  be  mixed  with  a  little  of  the  oil,  and  the  rest  being  melted  together,  the 
whole  to  be  gradually  mixed."  This  is  a  powerful  preparation  and  must 
not  be  applied  too  freely. 

Mr.  Spooner  gives  the  preference  to  No.  1,  as  least  troublesome  ;  Mr. 
Youatt  to  No.  2  ;  and  the  author  of  the  Mountain  Shepherd's  Manual  to 
No.  4.  I  should  certainly  prefer  No.  3,  if  it  is,  as  it  is  asserted  to  be, 
equally  effectual,  for  the  reason  that  it  contains  no  poisonous  or  dangerous 
ingredients. 

An  erysipelatous  scab,. or  erysipelas,  attended  with  considerable  itch- 
ing, sometimes  attacks  the  English  flocks,  but  I  have  heard  of  no  cases  of 
it  here.  This  would  be  classified  as  a  febrile  disease.  ]t  is  treated  with 
a  cooling  purgative,  venesection,  and  oil  or  lard  applied  to  the  sores. 

DISEASE  OF  THE  BIFLEX  CANAL. — From  the  introduction  of  foreign  bod 
ies  into  the  biflex  canal,  or  from  other  causes,  it  occasionally  becomes  the 
seat  of  inflammation.  This  is  sometimes  confounded  with  the  hoof-ail, 
but  the  diseases  are  entirely  distinct  and  different  from  each  other.  In- 
flammation of  the  biflex  canal  causes  an  enlargement  and  redness  of  the 
pastern,  particularly  about  the  external  orifice  of  the  canal.  The  toes  are 
thrown  wide  apart  by  the  tumor.  I  never  have  known  it  to  attack  more 
than  one  foot,  and  never  have  allowed  it  to  go  to  the  point  of  ulceration, 
which  it  is  said  to  do  if  neglected.  There  is  none  of  that  soreness  and 
disorganization  between  the  back  part  of  the  toes — and  none  of  that  pecu- 
liar fetor  which  distinguishes  the  hoof-ail.  I  never  have  found  it  anything 
like  so  serious  a  disease  as  it  is  described  tc  be  by  the  English  veterina- 
rians. 

Treatment. — I  have  always  scarified  the  coronet,  making  one  or  two 
deeper  incisions  in  the  principal  swelling  around  the  mouth  of  the  canal 
— covered  the  foot  with  tar — and  paid  no  more  attention  to  it. 

HOOF- AIL. — The  first  symptom  of  this  troublesome  malady,  which  is  or- 
dinarily noticed,  is  a  lameness  of  one  or  both  of  the  fore  feet.  But  on  daily 
examining  the  feeS  of  a  flock  which  have  the  disease  among  them,  it  will  be 
readily  seen  that  the  lesions  manifest  themselves  for  several  days  before 
they  are  followed  with  lameness.  Scarcely  any  English  writer*  whom  I 


262          SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOI  TH. 


have  read,  describes  with  respectable  accuracy  the  first  appearances  of 
the  hoof-ail  as  it  exhibits  itself  in  this  country,  and  among  the  Jine-icooled 
sheep*  Mr.  Youatt  says  : 

"  The  foot  will  be  found  hot  and  tender,  the  horn  softer  than  usual,  and  there  will  be  en- 
largement about  the  coronet,  and  a  slight  separation  of  the  hoof  from  it,  with  portions  of  the 
horn  worn  away,  and  ulcers  formed  below,  and  a  discharge  of  their  fetid  matter.  The  ul- 
cers, if  neglected,  continue  to  increase  ;  they  throw  out  fungous  granulations,  they  separate 
the  hoof  more  and  more  from  the  parts  beneath,  until  at  length  it  drops  off.'' 

The  above  is  not  a  description  of  the  consecutive  symptoms  of  the  hoof- 
ail  as  I  have  seen  them.  The  hoof,  instead  of  being  softened,  is  percepti- 
bly hardened,  I  think,  by  the  presence  of  the  disease.  There  is  occasion- 
ally an  enlargement  about  the  coronet,  but  this  is  not  common  in  the  out- 
'set;  and  so  far  from  the  horn  first  separating  from  the  foot  at  that  point,  it 
is  the  last  place  where  it  usually  adheres  when  the  soles  are  eaten  away 
by  the  ulcerous  matter,  and  the  mere  outside  shell  remains.  I  never  have 
known  a  hoof  to  drop  off,  entire,  in  the  sense  in  which  I  understand  the 
closing  part  of  Mr.  Youatt's  remark. 

My~first  introduction  to  this  disease  was  by  its  breaking  out  in  its  most 
malignant  form  in  a  flock  of  eight  hundred  sheep,  with  which  I  had  placed, 
early  in  the  preceding  spring,  a  few  valuable  sheep  received  from  abroad 
which  were  infected  with  the  hoof-ail,  without  my  having  the  slightest  sus- 
picion of  the  fact.  The  disease,  when  of  long  standing,  and  well  kept  un- 
der, shows  itself  but  very  little  during  the  winter  and  spring,  unless  the 
foot  is  directly  examined.  Every  sheep  in  that  eight  hundred  took  the 
disease,  sometimes  first  in  one  foot,  then  in  another,  then  in  a  third,  and 
when  the  fourth  one  was  attacked,  perhaps  it  W7as  again  bursting  out  in 
one  of  the  cured  feet  !  I  considered  the  sheep  valuable,  had  much  of  the 
esprit  du  corps  of  a  young  flock-master,  and  was  determined  to  conquer  the 
malady  at  any  cost  and  at  all  hazards.  I  have  little  doubt  that  every  sheep 
in  the  flock  was  "  doctored  "  on  the  average  ten  times  each,  and  it  was 
very  rarely  that  I  permitted  any  other  person  than  myself  to  cut  away  the 
horn  and  prepare  the  foot  of  a  single  sheep  for  the  application  of  the  reme- 
dies !  When  I  look  back  to  that  period — the  sheep  on  some  remote  pas- 
tures— not  a  shed  on  them  to  shelter  myself  or  assistants  from  the  burning 
August  sun  as  we  bent  ten  or  twelve  hours  a  day  over  our  task — our  only 
"  operating  room"  a  yard  in  the  corner  of  two  fields — blood  and  pus  en- 
crusting hands  and  garments,  and  occasionally  by  an  unlucky  stroke  of  the 
knife  showered  over  face  and  bosom — the  crawling  maggots — the  intolera- 
ble fetor  : — I  hardly  know  whether  to  take  credit  to  myself  for  or  to  laugh 
at  the  stanchness  of  my  zeal.  But,  worst  of  all,  with  all  my  labor,  I  had 

"  scotch'd  the  snake,  not  killed  it ! " 

The  disease  appeared  in  my  flock,  though  in  a  much  mitigated  form, 
the  next  summer.  I  think  I  then  cured  it — but  I  was  not  allowed  to  es- 
cape thus.  In  the  succeeding  summer,  accident  again  brought  it  among 
my  sheep.  In  a  word,  I  have  first  and  last  served  a  five  years'  appren- 
ticeship to  combating  the  hoof-ail.  Having  seen  it  in  every  possible  phase 
— having  experimented  with  almost  every  recommended  remedy  not  obvi- 
ously empirical — I  shall  be  excased  if  I  speak  my  own  opinions  with  ade- 

*  As  1  have  before  stated,  when  discussing  "  the  most  profitable  breed  for  the  South,"  the  hoof  of  the  Me- 
rino and  that  of  the  English  Long-Wooled  ».  res,  is  essentially  different.  The  latter  usually  retains  its  natu- 
ral ehape  and  thickness,  and  although  the  side-crust  sometimes  turns  under,  it  is  but  a  comparatively  thin 
•lip  of  horn,  which  is  subsequently  worn  or  broken  off— or  it  is  easily  removed  by  the  knife.  The  hoof  of 
the  Merino  grows  rapidly,  especially  when  the  animal  has  the.  hoof-ail.  The  horny  soles  will  sometimes  be- 
come nearly  an  inch  thick,  and  the  toes  will  elongate  and  turn  up  in  front  like  horns,  to  the  length  of  three 
»nd  even  four  inches.  The  weight  of  the  Merino  is  much  less  than  that  of  the  Long- Wool.  Take  these 
facts  into  consideration,  together  with  some  of  the  other  circumstances  detailed  in  the  introductory  remark* 
to  Letter  XIV,  and  perhaps  it  sufficiently  accounts  for  some  differences  in  the  diagnosis  of  the  disease  be- 
•vreen  the  two  countries. 


SHEEP   HUSBANDRY    IN   THE    SOUTH.  263 


gree  of  confidence,  even  if  they  chance  to  conflict  with  those  of  professed 
and  eminent  veterinarians. 

As  all  are  aware,  the  horny  covering  of  the  sheep's  foot  extends  up, 
gradually  thinning  out,  some  way  between  the  toes  or  divisions  of  the  hoof, 
and  above  these  horny  walls  the  "  cleft "  ie  lined  with  skin.  When  the 
points  of  the  toes  are  spread  apart,  this  skin  is  shown  in  front,  covered 
with  short,  soft  hair.  The  back  part  of  the  toes,  or  the  "  heels,"  can  be  sep- 
arated only  to  a  little  distance,  and  the  skin  in  the  cleft  above  them  is 
naked.  In  a  healthy  foot,  the  skin  throughout  the  whole  cleft  is  as  firm, 
sound,  dry  and  uneroded,  as  on  any  other  part  of  the  animal. 

The  first  symptom  of  hoof-ail  is  a  slight  erosion,  accompanied  with  in- 
flammation and  heat  of  the  naked  skin  in  the  back  part  of  the  cleft,  imme- 
diately above  the  heels.  The  skin  assumes  a  macerated  appearance,  and 
is  kept  moist  by  the  presence  of  a  sanious  discharge  from  the  ulcerated  sur- 
face. As  the  inflammation  extends,  the  friction  of  the  parts  causes  pain 
and  the  sheep  limps.  At  this  stage  the  foot  externally,  in  a  great  ma- 
jority of  cases,  exhibits  not  the  least  trace  of  disease,  with  the  exception 
of  a  slight  redness,  and  sometimes  the  appearance  of  a  small  sore  at  the 
upper  edge  of  the  cleft,  when  viewed  from  behind. 

The  ulceration  of  the  surface  rapidly  extends.  The  thin  upper  edges 
of  the  inner  walls  of  the  hoof  are  disorganized,  and  an  ulceration  is  estab- 
lished between  the  hoof  and  the  fleshy  sole.  A  purulent  fetid  matter  is 
exuded  from  the  cavity.  The  extent  of  the  separation  daily  increases,  and 
the  ulcers  also  form  sinuses  deep  into  the  fleshy  sole.  The  bottom  of  the 
hoof  disappears,  eaten  away  by  the  acrid  matter,  and  the  outer  walls,  en- 
tirely separated  from  the  flesh,  hang  only  by  their  attachments  at  the  coro- 
net. The  whole  fleshy  sole  is  now  entirely  disorganized,  and  the  entire 
foot  is  a  mass  of  black,  putrid  ulceration ;  or,  as  it  more  commonly  hap- 
pens, the  fly  has  struck  it,  and  a  dense  mass  of  writhing  maggots  cover  the 
surface,  and  burrow  in  every  cavity.  The  fore-feet  are  generally  first  at- 
tacked, and  most  usually  but  one  of  them.  The  animal  at  first  manifests 
but  little  constitutional  disturbance.  It  eats  as  usual.  By  the  time  that 
any  considerable  disorganization  of  the  structures  has  taken  place  in  the 
first  foot — sometimes  sooner — the  other  fore-foot  is  attacked.  That  be- 
coming as  lame  as  the  first,  the  miserable  animal  seeks  its  food  on  its 
knees,  and  if  forced  to  rise,  its  strange,  hobbling  gait  betrays  the  intense 
agony  occasioned  by  bringing  its  feet  in  contact  with  the  ground.  There 
is  a  bare  spot  under  the  brisket  of  the  size  of  the  palm  of  a  man's  hand, 
which  looks  red  and  inflamed.  There  is  a  degree  of  general  fever — and 
the  appetite  is  dull.  The  animal  rapidly  loses  condition.  The  appearance 
of  the  maggot  soon  closes  the  scene.  Where  the  rotten  foot  is  brought  in 
contact  with  the  side  in  lying  down,  the  filthy  ulcerous  matter  adheres  to  and 
saturates  the  short  wool,  (it  being  but  a  month  and  a  half  or  two  months  af- 
ter shearing,)  and  maggots  are  either  carried  there  by  the  foot,  or  they 
are  soon  generated  there.  A  black  crust  is  soon  formed  round  the  spot. 
It  is  the  decomposition  of  the  surrounding  structures,  and  innumerable 
maggots  are  at  work  below,  burrowing  into  the  integuments  and  mus- 
cles and  eating  np  the  miserable  animal  alive.  The  black  festering  mass 
rapidly  spreads,  and  the  poor  sufferer  perishes,  we  cannot  suppose  other- 
wise than  in  tortures  the  most  excruciating. 

Sometimes  but  one  fore-foot  is  attacked,  and  subsequently  one  or  both 
hind  ones.  There  is  no  uniformity  in  this  particular,  and  it  is  a  singular 
fact  that  when  two  or  even  three  of  the  feet  are  dreadfully  diseased,  the 
fourth  may  be  entirely  sound.  So  also  one  foot  may  be  cured,  while  ev 
«ry  other  one  is  laboring  under  the  malady. 


264  SHEEP   HUSBANDRY    IN    THE    SOUTH. 

The  highly  offensive  odor  of  the  ulcerated  feet  is  so  peculiar  that  it  u 
strictly  pathognomonic  of  the  disease — and  would  reveal  its  character  tu 
one  familiar  with  it,  in  the  darkest  night. 

When  the  disease  has  been  well  kept  under  during  the  first  season  of 
its  attack,  but  not  entirely  eradicated,  it  will  almost  or  entirely  disappear 
us  cold  weather  approaches,  and  does  not  manifest  itself  until  the  warm 
weather  of  the  succeeding  summer.  It  then  assumes  a  mitigated  form—- 
the sheep  are  not  rapidly  and  simultaneously  attacked — there  seems  to  be 
loss  inflammatory  action,  constitutionally,  and  in  the  diseased  parts — the 
course  of  the  disease  is  less  malignant  and  more  tardy,  and  it  more  readi- 
ly yields  to  treatment.  If  well  kept  under  the  second  summer,  it  is  still 
milder  the  third.  A  sheep  will  occasionally  be  seen  to  limp,  but  its  con- 
dition will  scarcely  be  affected,  and  dangerous  symptoms  will  rarely  su- 
pervene. One  or  two  applications  made  during  the  summer,  in  such  a 
way,  as  I  shall  presently  describe,  that  one  thousand  sheep  can  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  treatment  in  half  a  day — with  but  a  trifle  of  labor  and  ex- 
pense— will  now  suffice  to  keep  the  disease  under.  At  this  point  a  little 
vigor  in  the  treatment  will  entirely  extinguish  the  disease. 

With  all  its  fearful  array  of  symptoms,  can  the  hoof-ail  be  cured  in  ita 
first  attack  on  a  flock  ]  The  worst  case  can  be  promptly  cured,  as  I  know 
by  repeated  experiments.  Take  a  single  sheep,  put  it  by  itself,  and  ad- 
minister the  remedies  daily  after  the  English  fashion,  or  as  I  shall 
presently  prescribe,  and  there  is  not  an  ovine  disease  which  more  surely 
yields  to  treatment.  But  as  already  remarked,  in  a  preceding  Letter,  in 
this  country,  where  sheep  are  so  cheap,  and  labor  in  the  summer  months 
so  dear,  it  would  out  of  the  question  for  an  extensive  flock-master  to  at- 
tempt to  keep  each  sheep  by  itself,  or  to  make  a  daily  application  of  rem- 
edies. There  is  not  a  flock-master  within  my  knowledge  who  has  evet 
pretended  to  apply  his  remedies  oftener  than  once  a  week,  or  regularly  as 
often  as  that,  and  not  one  in  ten  makes  any  separation  between  the  dis- 
eased and  healthy  sheep  of  a  flock  into  which  the  malady  has  been  once  in- 
introduced.  The  consequence  necessarily  is  that  though  you  may  cure  the 
sheep  now  diseased,  it  has  infected  or  inoculated  others — and  these  in  turn 
scatter  the  contagion,  before  they  are  cured.  There  is  not  a  particle  of 
doubt — nay,  I  know,  by  repeated  observation,  that  a  sheep  once  entirely 
cured  may  again  contract  the  disease,  and  thus  the  malady  performs  a  per- 
petual circle  in  the  flock.  Fortunately,  however,  the  susceptibility  to  con- 
tract the  disease  diminishes,  according  to  my  observation,  with  every  suc- 
ceeding attack ;  and  fortunately  also,  as  already  stated,  succeeding  attacks, 
ccetcris  paribus,  became  less  and  less  virulent. 

What  course  shall  then  be  pursued  1  Shall  the  flock-master  sacrifice 
his  sheep — shall  he  take  the  ordinary  half-way  course — or  shall  he!  expend 
more  on  the  sheep  than  they  are  worth  in  attempting  to  cure  them  *?  Nei- 
ther. The  course  I  would  advise  him  to  pursue,  will  appear  as  I  detail 
the  experiments,  I  have  made. 

Treatment. — The  preparation  of  the  foot,  where  any  separate  individual 
treatment  is  resolved  upon — and  this  is  always  necessary,  at  least  in  bad 
cases — is  a  subject  of  no  dispute.  But  the  labor  can  be  prodigiously 
economized  by  attention  to  a  few  not  very  commonly  observed  particulars. 
Sheep  should  be  yarded  for  the  operation  immediately  after  a  rain,  if  prac- 
ticable, as  then  the  hoofs  can  be  readily  cut.  In  a  dry  time,  and  after  a 
night  which  has  left  no  dew  on  the  grass,  their  hoofs  are  almost  as  tough 
as  horn.  They  must  be  driven  through  no  mud,  or  soft  dung,  on  their 
way  to  the  yard,  which  would  double  the  labor  of  cleaning  their  feet. — 
The  yard  m  v*  be  small,  so  they  can  be  easily  caught,  and  it  must  be  kept 


SHEEP    HUSBANDRY    IN    THE    SOUTH.  265 

well  littered  down,  so  they  shall  not  fill  their  feet  with  their  own  excre- 
ment. If  the  straw  is  wetted,  their  hoofs  will  not  of  course  dry  and  harden 
us  rapidly  as  in  dry  straw.  Could  the  yard  be  built  over  a  shallow,  grav- 
elly-bottomed brook,*  it  would  be  an  admirable  arrangement.  The  hoofa 
would  be  k3pt  so  soft  that  the  greatest  and  most  unpleasant  part  of  the  la 
bor,  as  ordinarily  performed,  would  be  in  a  great  measure  saved,  and  they 
would  be  kept  free  from  that  dung  which  by  any  other  arrangement  will, 
more  or  less,  get  into  their  clefts. 

The  principal  operator  or  foreman  seats  himself  in  a  chair — a  couple  of 
good  knives,  a  whetstone,  the  powerful  toe-nippers  (fig.  21,  Letter  XII,) 
a  bucket  of  water  with  a  couple  of  linen  rags  in  it,  and  such  medicines  as 
he  chooses  to  employ,  within  his  reach.  The  assistant  catches  a  sheep  and 
lays  it  partly  on  its  back  and  rump,  between  the  legs  of  the  foreman,  the 
head  coming  up  about  to  his  middle.  The  assistant  then  kneels  on  some 
straw  or  seats  himself  on  a  low  stool  at  the  hinder  extremity  of  the  sheep. 
If  the  hoofs  are  long,  and  especially  if  they  are  dry  and  tough,  the  assist- 
ant presents  each  foot  to  the  foreman,  who  shortens  the  hoof  with  the  toe- 
nippers.  If  there  is  any  filth  between  the  toes,  each  -man  takes  his  rag 
from  the  bucket  of  water,  and  draws  it  between  the  toes  and  rinses  it,  un- 
til the  filth  is  removed.  Each  then  seize  their  knives,  and  the  process  of 
paring  away  the  horn  commences.  And  on  tlie  effectual  performance  of 
this,  all  else  depends.  A  glance  at  the  foot  will  show  whether  it  is  the  seat 
of  the  diseased  action.  The  least  experience  cannot  fail  in  properly  set- 
tling this  question.  An  experienced  jinger,  placed  on  the  back  of  the 
pastern  close  above  the  heel,  would  at  once  detect  the  local  inflammation 
(by  its  heat)  in  the  dark. 

If  the  disease  is  in  the  first  stage — i.e.  there  is  merely  an  erosion  and  ul- 
ceration  of  the  cuticle  and  flesh  in  the  cleft  above  the  walls  of  the  hoof,  no 
paring  is  necessary.  But  if  ulceration  has  established  itself  between  the 
hoof  and  the  fleshy  sole,  the  ulcerated  parts,  be  they  more  or  less  exten- 
sive, MUST  BE  ENTIRELY  DENUDED  OF  THEia  HORNY  COVERING,  COSt  what  it 

may  of  time  and  care.  It  is  better  not  to  wound  the  sole  so  as  to  cause  it 
to  bleed  freely,  as  the  running  blood  will  wash  off  the  subsequent  applica- 
tion,  but  no  fear  of  wounding  the  sole  must  prevent  a  full  compliance  with 
the  rule  above  laid  down.  At  the  worst,  the  blood  will  stop  flowing  after 
a  little  while,  during  which  time  no  application  need  be  made  to  the  foot. 

If  the  foot  is  in  the  third  stage — a  mass  of  rottenness  and  filled  with 
maggots — in  the  first,  place  pour  a  little  spirits  of  turpentine  (a  bottle  of  it, 
with  a  quili  tbi'Ougn  tne  cork,  should  be  always  ready,)  on  the  maggots 
and  most  of  tnem  will  immediately  decamp,  and  the  others  can  be  re- 
moved with  a  probe  or  small  stick.  Then  remove  every  particle  of  loose 
horn,  though  it  should,  take  the  entire  hoof- — and  it  will  generally  take  the 
whole  hoof  in  such  cases.  The  foot  should  be  now  cleansed  with  a  solu- 
tion of  chloride  of  lime,  in  the  proportion  of  one  pound  of  chloride  to  one 
gallon  of  water.  If  this  is  not  at  hand,  plunging  the  foot  repeatedly  in 
water,  just  short  of  scalding  hot,  will  answer  every  purpose.  The  great 
object  is  to  clean  the  foot  thoroughly.  If  there  are  any  considerable  fun- 
gous granulations,  ("  proud-flesh,")  they  should  be  excised  with  a  pair  of 
scissors,  or  the  actual  cautery  (hot  iron.) 

And  now  comes  the  important  question  what  constitutes  the  lest  remedy  ? 
The  recommended  prescriptions  are  innumerable.  The  following  arc 
some  of  the  most  popular  ones.t  1.  4  oz.  blue  vitriol,  2  oz.  of  verdigris. 

*  A  portion  of  any  little  brook  might  be  prepared  by  planking  the  bottom,  and  widening  it  if  desirable 
\  Ihe  first  three  are  given  io  the  American  Shepherd,  pp.  379-80. 


266  SHtEP    HUSBANDRY    IN    THE    SOUTH. 


to  a  junk-bottle  of  wine.  2L  Spirits  turpentine,  tar  and  veidigris  in  equal 
parts.  3.  3  quarts  of  alcohol.  1  pint  spirits  of  turpentine,  i  pint  of  strong 
vinegar,  1  Ib.  blue  vitriol,  1  Ib.  copperas,  1-J-  Ibs.  verdigris,  1  Ib.  alum,  1  Ib. 
of  saltpetre,  pounded  fine:  mix  in  a  close  bottle,  shake  every  day,  and  let  it 
stand  six  or  eight  days  before  using :  also  mix  2  pounds  of  honey  and  2 
quarts  of  tar,  which  must  be  applied  after  the  previous  compound.  "  Two 
applications  will  entirely  r6move  the  disease,"  says  this  recipe,  which 
was  once,  I  believe,  hawked  about  the  country  as  a  patent  cure — being 
sold  at  five  dollars  to  each  purchaser,  he  giving  a  promise  of  inviolable  se- 
crecy !  4.  Apply  diluted  aquafortis  (nitric  acid)  with  a  feather  to  the  ul- 
cerated surface.  5.  Apply  diluted  oil  of  vitriol  (sulphuric  acid)  in  the 
same  way.  6.  Same  of  muriatic  acid.  7.  Dip  the  foot  in  tar  nearly  at 
the  boiling  point,  &c. 

After  a  thorough  trial  of  the  above  and  a  multitude  of  other  prescrip 
tions,*  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  in  the  first  and  second  stages  of 
the  disease — before  the  ulcers  have  formed  sinuses  into  the  sole,  and 
wholly  or  partly  destroyed  its  structure — that  no  application,  simple  01 
compound,  is  preferable  to  a  saturated  solution  of  blue  vitriol,  (sulphate  of 
copper.)  In  my  judgment,  no  beneficial  addition  can  be  made  to  it  as  a 
remedy.  Of  the  manner  of  applying  it  I  shall  speak  presently. 

In  the  third  stage,  when  the  foot  is  a  festering  mass  of  corruption,  after 
it  has  been  cleansed  as  already  directed,  it  requires  some  strong  caustic  to 
remove  the  unhealthy  granulations — the  dead  muscular  structures — and 
to  restore  healthy  action.  Lunar  caustic  I  think  preferable  to  any  other 
application,  but  it  is  too  expensive.  Mr.  Youatt  gives  a  decided  prefer- 
ence to  chloride  of  antimony,  and  I  think  him  correct.  This  is  frequently 
not  attainable  in  the  country  drug-stores,  and  muriatic  acid  may  be  re- 
sorted to,  or  even  nitric  or  sulphuric  acid.  The  diseased  surface  is  touched 
with  the  caustic  (applied  with  a  swab  formed  by  fastening  a  little  tow  on 
the  end  of  a  stick,)  until  the  objects  above  pointed  out  are  obtained.  I 
have  then  usually  treated  the  foot  with  the  solution  of  blue  vitriol,  and  sub- 
sequently coated  it  over  with  tar  which,  has  been  boiled,  and  is  properly 
cooled.  The  last  protects  the  raw  wound  from  dirt,  flies,  &c.  Sheep  in 
this  stage  of  the  disease  should  certainly  be  separated  from  the  main  flock, 
and  looked  to  as  often  as  once  in  three  days.  With  this  degree  of  atten- 
tion, their  cure  will  be  rapid,  and  it  is  astonishing  with  what  celerity  the 
obliterated  structures  of  the  foot  will  be  restored. 

The  ordinary  method  of  using  the  solution  of  blue  vitriol  is  to  pour  it 
from  a  bottle  with  a  quill  in  the  cork,  into  the  foot,  when  the  animal  lies 
on  its  back  between  the  operators,  as  already  described.  In  this  way  a 
few  cents*  worth  of  vitriol  will  serve  for  a  large  number  of  sheep.  But 
the  method  is  imperfect,  because,  without  remarkable  care,  there  will  al 
most  always  be  some  slight  ulcerations  not  uncovered  by  the  knife — the 
passages  to  them  will  be  devious,  and  perhaps  nearly  or  quite  closed— 
and  the  solution  will  not  reach  them.  Thus  the  disease  will  only  be  tem- 
porarily suppressed,  not  cured. 

I  had  a  flock  of  sheep  a  few  years  since  which  were  in  the  second  sea- 
son of  the  disease.  They  had  been  but  little  looked  to  during  the  sum- 
mer, and  as  cold  weather  was  setting  in,  many  of  them  were  consid- 
erably lame — -some  of  them  quite  so.  The  snow  fell  and  they  were  brought 
into  the  yards,  limping  and  hobbling  about  deplorably.  This  sight,  so  dis- 
graceful to  me  as  a  farmer,  roused  me  into  activity.  I  bought  a  quantity 

*Many  of  them  resorted  to  "  against  the  stomach  of  my  sense,"  to  give  .nyeelf  nnd  others  indispuU:W« 
ocular  proof  of  their  inutility— or  that  they  were  no  Wter  than  cheaper,  simpler,  and  more  easijy  rttain- 
•bie  medicines 


SHEEP    HUSBANDRY    IN    THE    SOUTH.  2o7 

of  blue  vitriol — made  the  necessary  arrangements — and  once  more  took 
the  chair  as  principal  operator !  Never  were  the  feet  of  a  flock  more 
thoroughly  pared.  Into  a  large  washing  tub,  in  which  two  sheep  could 
stand  conveniently,  I  poured  a  saturated  solution  of  blue  vitriol  and  water, 
as  hot  as  could  be  endured  by  the  hand  even  for  a  moment.  The  liquid  was 
about  four  inches  deep  on  the  bottom  of  the  tub,  and  was  kept  at  about 
that  depth  by  frequent  additions  of  hot  solution.  As  soon  as  a  sheep's  feet 
were  pared,  it  was  placed  in  the  tub  and  held  there  by  the  neck;  by  an  as- 
sistant. A  second  one  was  prepared  and  placed  beside  it.  When  the 
third  one  was  ready,  the^ri^  was  taken  out,  and  so  on.  Two  sheep  were 
thus  constantly  in  the  tub,  and  each  remained  in  it  about  five  minutes. — 
The  cure  was  perfect !  There  was  not  a  lame  sheep  in  the  flock  during 
the  winter  or  the  next  summer!  The  hot  liquid  penetrated  to  every 
cavity  of  the  foot,  and  doubtless  had  a  far  more  decisive  effect  even  on  the 
uncovered  ulcers,  than  would  have  been  produced  by  merely  wetting  them, 
Perhaps  the  lateness  of  the  season  was  also  favorable,  as  in  cold  weather 
the  ulcers  of  ordinary  virulence  discharge  no  matter  to  inoculate  the  healthy 
feet,  and  thus,  at  the  time  of  applying  the  remedy,  there  are  no  cases  where 
there  has  been  inoculation  not  yet  followed  by  those  lesions  which  admit 
of  cure.  Whether  so  thorough  a  soaking  would  destroy  the  virus  in  the  in- 
oc.ulated  foot,  I  cannot  pretend  to  decide. 

I  think  that  the  vitriol  required  for  the  above  one  hundred  sheep  was 
about  twelve  pounds,  and  that  it  cost  me  fifteen  cents  per  pound.  The  ac- 
count then  would  stand  thus : 

12  Ibs.  of  vitriol  at  15  cents $1,80 

Labor  of  3  men  one  day  each 2,25 

Total $4,05 

or  about  four  cents  per  sheep.  I  have  not  a  doubt  that  three  such  appli- 
cations at  intervals  of  a  week,  would  effectually  cure  the  disease,  as  every 
new  case  would  be  arrested  and  cured  before  it  had  time  to  inoculate 
others.  I  have  no  doubt  that  it  would  do  this  at  any  time  of  year,  and 
even  during  the  first  and  most  malignant  prevalence  of  the  contagion,  PRO- 
VIDING THE  PARING  WAS  SUFFICIENTLY  THOROUGH.  The  second  and  third 
parings  would  be  a  mere  trifle,  and  the  liquid  left  at  the  first  and  second 
applications  could  again  be  used.  Thus  sheep  could  be  cured  at  about 
twelve  cents  per  head.  This  is  vastly  cheaper  in  the  long  run  than  the 
ordinary  temporizing  method — where  people  count  the  cost  of  a  few 
pounds  of  blue  vitriol,  but  not  their  time,  and  who  thus  keep  the  disease 
lingering  in  their  flocks  for  years.  Indeed,  if  partial  and  temporizing 
treatment  is  all  that  is  aimed  at, — if  the  flockmaster  is  content  to  simply 
keep  the  disease  under — I  can  point  out  methods  quite  as  efficacious  aa 
the  common  one  by  paring  and  applying  washes  from  a  bottle — as  ordina» 
rily  performed — and  not  costing  a  tithe  as  much. 

Between  the  corners  of  two  sheep-pastures  (1,  2,  of  fig.  69,)  construct 
the  dividing  fence  as  represented  in  the  cut.  'A 

narrow  passage  is  thus  left  from  one  field  to  an-    -^-^ . 

other.  This  passage  should  be  about  2  or  2J  feet 
wide  and  12  feet  long.  The  fence  on  each  side 
of  the  passage  should  be  an  upright  board  fence, 
so  that  the  space  can  be  entirely  filled  on  the  bot- 
tom with  a  flat  trough,  (the  bottom  formed  of  a  { 
plank)  with  side  and  end  boards  about  five  inches 
high.  In  this  trough  place  say  a  bushel  and  a  half  or  two  bushels  ot  un. 


: 


268  SHEEP    HUSBANDRY    IN   THE    SOUTH. 

slacked  lime,*  slack  it,  and  then  fill  the  trough  nearly  full  of  water.—* 
Through  this  drive  the  flock  several  times  from  one  field  to  the  other — un- 
til the  lame  ones  manifest  much  suffering.  Repeat  this  once  a  week  the 
first  summer  that  the  disease  appears,  putting  in  fresh  lime  each  time.—- 
This  does  not  appear  to  cure  the  hoof- ail,  but  it  keeps  it  under  ;  the  sheep 
keep  their  condition,  and  show  little  lameness.  The  second  or  third  sum- 
mer of  the  disease,  three  or  four  such  applications  usually  answer  for  the 
entire  season.  Some  use  dry  slacked  lime,  as  the  same  trough-full  will 
then  answer  for  several  applications.  The  trough  in  this  case  must  have 
a  roof  over  it.  I  never  have  tried  the  last  method.  If  the  dry  lime  will 
get  sufficiently  between  the  toes — and  it  is  said  to — it  will  answer  the 
purpose  where  it  touches  more  effectually  than  even  the  liquid,  but  it 
would  not  be  so  likely  to  penetrate  into  cavities.  Some  who  use  the  lime 
remedy,  pare  the  feet  once  pretty  thoroughly  prior  to  the  first  application, 
but  afterward  neglect  them.  Others  neglect  paring  entirely,  i.  e.  beyond, 
shortening  the  toes  once  a  year,  as  is  practiced  with  all  fine-wooled  flocks. 

Fig.  70  is  an  improvement  on  the 
more  common  arrangement  exhib- 
ited in  fig.  69.  The  dotted  lines 
enclose  good-sized  yards  in  the  cor- 
ners of  two  adjoining  pastures. — 
Two  drivers  can  yard  the  sheep  in 
one  of  these,  and  drive  the  sheep 
from  one  to  the  other  any  number 
of  times,  without  chasing  them 
about  a  large  field.  The  labor  can 

therefore  be  performed  much  more  rapidly,  and  it  requires  less  force.  A 
couple  of  active  fellows  would  yard  and  submit  a  flock  of  two  or  three 
hundred  sheep  to  the  process  in  less  than  an  hour.  When  the  sheep  are 
first  yarded,  if  there  are  any  very  lame  ones,  draw  them  out  and  place 
them  in  one  of  the  small  pens  (a,  b.)  Their  feet  can  be  examined,  arid  if 
necessary  a  little  extra  pains  taken  with  them,  by  paring,  cauterizing,  etc. 
Each  sheep  as  treated  is  put  into  the  other  small  pen,  where  it  can  be  re- 
tained until  the  flock  is  discharged,  and  then  removed  to  a  separate  pas- 
ture from  the  others,  if  considered  desirable. 

Where  two  yards  are  constructed,  as  in  fig.  70,  it  is  obvious  that  the-  ar- 
rangement can  be  made  elsewhere  as  well  as  in  the  corner  of  two  fields, 
though  if  the  sheep  are  wild,  it  may  require  a  few  rods  of  wing  fence  (in 
the  place  of  the  dividing  one  between  the  fields,  as  seen  in  figures  69  and 
70,)  for  the  more  convenient  cornering  of  the  sheep  to  yard  them.  Thus 
one  euch  apparatus  might  be  made  to  conveniently  answer  for  a  whole 
farm,  though  thousands  of  diseased  sheep  were  scattered  in  different  flocks 
over  it,  and  may  be  placed  at  a  spot  where  water,  etc.  are  convenient. 

Where  lime  and  water  are  used,  the  sheep  must  be  driven  through  the 
trough  slowly  and  quietly — as  otherwise  the  lime  will  be  scattered  over 
their  wool,  into  their  eyes,  &c.  If  the  lime  is  fresh. burned  and  highly 
caustic,  it  would  be  likely  to  destroy  their  eyes.  Indeed,  pure  fresh-burned 
lime  sometimes  will  take  the  hair  off  from  their  pasterns  and  shanks.  It  is 
better,  therefore,  to  use  it  when  somewhat  re-carbonized  by  exposure  to 
the  air. 

Wood  ashes  are  said  to  produce  the  same  effect  with  lime.  It  is  claimed 
that  sheep  kept  on  lands  where  the  timber  has  been  recently  burned, 
("  new  clearings,")  will  recover  from  the  hoof-ail.  Query  :  If  this  be  true 

*  To  be  added  to,  from  time  to  time,  if  the  number  of  sheep  run  through  is  largo  enough  to  waste  it  mata 
riafiy,  before  they  ore  sufficiently  treated. 


SHEEP    HUSBANDRY    IN   THE    SOUTH. 


might  not.  the  lye  of  ashes,  of  the  proper  strength,  make  au  adequate  sub 
stitute  for  lime  and  water  '[ 

Some  Northern  farmers  drive  their  sheep  over  dusty  roads  as  a  remedy 
for  hoof-ail  !  Opposed  as  it  would  seem  to  be  to  sound  theory — sadly  aa 
it  is  at  variance  with  the  practice  of  foreign  veterinarians  who  employ 
"  tow-pledgets,"  "  gaiter  boots,"  etc.,  to  exclude  all  dirt  from  the  diseased 
surface,  it  does  actually  seem  in  cases  of  ordinary  virulence — especially 
where  the  disease  is  chronic — to  dry  up  the.  ulcers  and  keep  the  malady  under! 

There  is  an  important  point  to  be  regarded  in  exhibiting  remedies  for 
the  hoof-ail,  the  mention  of  which  I  have  reserved  until  now,  as  it  concerns 
all  remedies  equally.  Many  farmers  select  rainy  weather  to  "  doctor"  the 
sheep.  Their  feet  are  then  soft,  and  it  is  therefore  on  all  accounts  good 
economy,  when  the  feet  are  to  be  pared,  and  each  separately  treated,  pro- 
vided, they  can  be  kept  in  sheep-houses,  or  under  shelters  of  any  kind, 
until  the  rain  is  over  and  the  grass  again  dry.  If  immediately  let  out  in 
wet  grass  of  any  length,  the  vitriol  or  other  application  is  measurably 
washed  away.  This  is  avoided  by  many,  by  dipping  the  feet  in  warm  tar 
— an  excellent  plan  under  such  circumstances.  The  tar  is  probably  a  good 
application  at  any  time,  "but  I  do  not  consider  it  necessary,  in  ordinary 
cases,  unless  the  sheep  must  be  turned  out  into  wet  grass. 

A  flock  of  sheep  which  have  been  cured  of  the  hoof-ail,  are  considered 
more  valuable  than  one  which  has  never  had  it.  They  are  far  less  liable 
to  contract  the  disease  from  any  casual  exposure — and  its  ravages  are  fai 
less  violent  and  general  among  them. 

I  am  strongly  disposed  to  believe  that  hoof-ail  is  propagated  in  this 
country  only  by  inoculation — the  contact  of  the  matter  of  a  diseased  foot 
with  the  integuments,  lining  the  bifurcation  of  a  healthy  foot.  That  it  is 
propagated  in  some  of  those  ways  classed  under  the  ordinary  designation 
of  contagion  is  certain.  I  could  indisputably  authenticate  more  than  a 
hundred  cases,  where  the  sheep  on  a  farm,  indeed  through  a  neighbor- 
hood, had  been  notoriously  exempt  from  hoof-ail  from  the  first  settlement 
of  the  country — so  that  the  inhabitants  did  not  even  know  what  the  disease 
was — until  some  diseased  flock  was  introduced  from  abroad.  It  was  so  in 
the  region  where  I  live,  and  I  well  recollect  when  a  flock  of  Saxons,  driven 
from  a  neighboring  county,  first  introduced  it  among  our  sheep.  There 
has  not  been  a  diseased  flock  in  the  county  which  could  not  trace  it  back 
to  that  flock.  And  the  contagion  was  spread  by  them  as  readily  on  our 
dry  hill-farms  as  on  low  and  moist  ones. 

That  it  may  be  propagated  by  inoculation  I  "know  by  direct  experiment 
I  have  placed  the  matter  of  diseased  feet  on  the  skin  lining  the  cleft  of  a 
healthy  foot  under  a  variety  of  circumstances — sometimes  when  that  skin 
was  in  its  ordinary  and  natural  state — sometimes  after  a  very  slight  scari- 
fication— sometimes  when  macerated  by  moisture.  The  disease  has  been 
communicated,  under  each  of  these  circumstances,  and  in  a  majority  of  all 
the  instances,  amounting  to  sixteen  or  seventeen. 

That  tfiere  is  not  even  a  supposed  or  pretended  case,  to  my  knowledge, 
on  record  where  the  disease  has  originated  spontaneously,  in  the  Northern 
States,  I  have  already  asserted.*  I  regard  Professor  Dick's  statements 
of  the  manner  in  which  the  disease  originates,  which  I  have  quoted,!  as 
wholly  inapplicable  to  our  country  with  its  present  breeds  of  taeept  and  I 
cannot  sufficiently  express  my  surprise  that  this  eminent  veterinarian 
should  nave  adopted — what  I  deem  so  unqualified  an  absurdity — the  non« 
contagion  theory. 

I  have  been  disposed  to  trace  the  propagatioi    }f  the  disease  exclusive* 

*Io  the  beginning  af  Letter  XIV.  tlb. 


270  SHEEP    HUSBANDRY   IN    THE    SOUTH. 

ly  to  inoculation,  from  having  observed  on  my  own  farm  arid  elsewhere, 
that  healthy  flocks  have  occupied  with  impunity  fields  adjoining  those  oc- 
cupied by  diseased  ones-; — an  open  board  or  rail  fence  only  separating 
them.  I  have  drawn  the  same  inference  also  from  the  manner  in  which 
the  disease  attacks  flocks.  The  whole,  or  any  considerable  number,  though 
sometimes  rapidly,  are  never  simultaneously  attacked,  as  we  should  expect 
among  animals  so  gregarious,  if  the  disease  could  be  communicated  by 
simple  contact,  inhaling  the  breath  or  other  effluvium.  But  not  having  pos- 
itive and  demonstrative  proof  of  the  correctness  of  the  proposition,  I  would 
advise  no  man  to  incur  any  risks,  unnecessarily,  founded  on  this  assump- 
tion, without  first  satisfying  himself  on  the  point. 

The  matter  of  diseased  feet  is  left  on  grass,  straw,  and  other  substances, 
and  thus  is  brought  in  contact  with  the  inner  surfaces  of  healthy  feet. — 
Sheep  therefore  contract  the  disease  from  being  driven  over  the  pastures, 
yarded  on  the  straw,  &c.,  where  diseased  sheep  have  been,  perhaps  even 
days  before.  The  matter  would  probably  continue  to  inoculate  until  dried 
up  by  the  air  and  heat,  or  washed  away  by  the  rains.  The  stiff  upright 
stems  of  closely  mown  grass  (as  on  meadows,)_are  almost  as  well  calcu- 
lated to  receive  the  matter  of  diseased  feet,  and  deposit  it  in  the  clefts  of 
healthy  ones,  as  any  means  which  could  be"  devised  artificially.  I  do  not 
consider  it  entirely  safe  to  drive  healthy  sheep  over  roads,  and  especially 
into  washing-yards  or  sheep-houses,  where  diseased  sheep  have  been,  until 
rain  has  fallen,  or  time  has  elapsed  for  the  matter  to  dry  up.  On  the 
moist  bottom  of  a  washing-yard,  and  particularly  in  houses  or  sheds,  kept 
from  sun  and  wind,  and  rain;  this  matter  might  be  preserved  for  some  tirce 
in  a  condition  to  inoculate. 

FOULS. — Sheep  are  much  loss  subject  to  this  disease  than  cattle,  but  are 
subject  to  it  if  kept  in  wet,  filthy  yards,  or  on  moist,  poachy  ground.  Jt  is 
an  irritation  of  the  integument  in  the  cleft  of  the  foot,  slightly  resembles 
incipient  hoof-ail,  and  produces  lameness.  But  it  produces  no  serious 
structural  disorganization — disappeai's  without  treatment — is  not  con- 
tagious— and  appears  in  the  wet  weather  of  spring  and  fall,  instead  of  the 
dry,  hot  period  of  summer  when  the  hoof-ail  rages  most.  A  little  solutior 
of  blue  vitriol,  or  a  little  spirits  of  turpentine,  either  followed  by  a  coat 
ing  of  warm  tar,  promptly  cures  it. 

GOITRE  OR  BRONCHOCELE. — I  never  have  seen  this  classed  among  the 
diseases  of  sheep,  but  the  "swelled  neck"  in  lambs  is,  like  the  goitre,  an 
enlargement  of  the  thyroid  glands,  and  it  is  strikingly  analogous  to,  if  not 
identical  with,  that  disease.  It  is  congenital.  The  glands  at  birth  are  from 
the  size  of  a  pigeon's  to  that  of  a  hen's  egg — though  more  elongated  and 
flattened  than  an  egg  in  their  form.  '  The  lamb  is  exceedingly  feeble, 
and  often  perishes  almost  without  an  effort  to  suck.  Many  even  make  no 
effort  to  rise,  and  die  as  soon  as  they  are  dropped.  It  is  rare  that  one  lives 
— though  three  or  four  years  since,  a  lamb  in  my  flock  having  one  of  the 
thyroid  glands  enlarged,  grew  up  a  large,  healthy  sheep.  At  a  year  old, 
when  disposed  of,  the  enlarged  gland  was  of  the  size  of  a  goose-egg. 

No  inconsiderable  number  of  lambs  annually  perish  from  this  disease. — 
It  does  not  appear  to  be  an  epizootic,  though  I  think  it  more  prevalent 
some  seasons  than  others.  It  does  not  seem  to  depend  upon  the  water,  01 
any  other  natural  circumstances  of  a  region,  (as  goitre  is  usually  supposed 
to,)  as  it  may  not  prevail  in  the  same  flock  or  on  the  same  farm  once  in 
ten  years.  I  never  have  been  able  to  trace  it  to  any  particular  kind  of 
food.  That  when  it  does  appear,  it  is  induced  by  some  common  local  or 


SHEEP   HUSBANDRY    IN    THE    SOUTH.  271 


alimentary  cause,  I  am  induced  to  infer  from  the  fact  that  its  attacks  aro 
rarely  isolated.  When  there  are  any  instances  of  it  in  a  flock,  there  are 
usually  a  number  of  them.  I  have  lost  lambs  by  it  two  seasons — 
from  six  to  ten  per  cent,  of  the  whole  -number.  Francis  Rotch,  Esq.  of 
Louisville,  Otsego  county,  lost  a  much  heavier  per  centage  than  this  (my 
impression  would  now  be  nearly  fifty  per  cent.)  of  his  choice  South-Down 
lambs,  a  few  years  since.  I  am  acquainted  with  various  other  instances 
where  the  loss  has  ranged  from  ten  to  twenty  per  centum. 

When  congenital  goitre  has  thus  appeared  among  my  lambs,  the  ewes 
have  been  in  unusually  high  condition.  The  same  was  true  of  Mr.  Rotch's 
ewes,  as  he  wrote  me  at  the  time.  WThether  this  coexistence  implies  caus- 
ality, I  do  not  pretend  to  decide.  High  condition  in  the  ewe  may  be  one 
of  the  inducipg  causes. 

Treatment. — I  know  of  no  treatment  which  will  reach  the  case^  Indeed, 
the  lamb  is  dying,  almost,  when  born — and  remedies  are  out  of  the  ques- 
tion. Should  one  having  the  disease  chance  to  live,  it  would  scarcely  be 
worth  while  to  attempt  reducing  the  enlargements  of  the  glands.  Perhaps 
keeping  the  breeding  ewes  uniformly  in  fair,  plump,  but  not  high  condi- 
tion, would  be  as  effectual  a  preventive  as  any. 

MISCELLANEOUS  DISEASES. 

POISON  FROM  EATING  LAUREL. — I  often  hear  of  this  from  our  drovers, 
who  take  sheep  in  the  spring  to  the  Philadelphia  and  New-Jersey  mar- 
kets, through  Northern  Pennsylvania,  on  the  Old  Red  Sandstone  formation 
of  which  the  beautiful  Kalmia  angustifolia  is  abundant.  The  following 
description  of  the  effects  on  the  sheep  of  eating  this  plant,  and  the  proper 
remedial  treatment,  though,  I  confess,  not  very  satisfactory  to  me,  I  ex- 
tract entire  from  the  "  American  Shepherd,"*  as  I  have  no  experience 
whatever  in  the  premises,  and  no  better  account  within  my  reach  : 

**  Sheep  and  calves  will  often,  in  the  winter  or  spring  of  the  year,  eat  greedily  of  the 
low  Laurel  (Kalmia  angustifolia).  The  animal  appears  to  be  dull  and  stupid,  swells  a 
little,  and  is  constantly  gulping  up  a  greenish  fluid  which  it  swallows  down  ;  a  part  of  it 
will  trickle  out  of  its  mouth,  and  discolor  its  lips.  The  plant  probably  brings  on  a  fermenta- 
tion in  the  stomach,  and  Nature  endeavors  to  throw  off  the  poison  herb  by  retchin°r  or 
vomiting. 

Treatment. — In  the  early  stages,  if  the  greenish  fluid  be  suffered  to  escape  from  the 
stomach,  the  animal  most  generally  recovers.  To  effect  this,  gag  the  sheep,  which  may  be 
done  in  this  manner  :  Take  a  stick  of  the  size  of  your  wrist  and  six  inches  long — place  it  in 
the  animal's  mouth — tie  a  string  to  one  end  of  it,  pass  it  over  the  head  and  down  to  the  other 
end,  and  there  make  it  fast.  The  fluid  will  then  run  from  the  mouth  as  fast  as  thrown  up 
from  the  stomach.  In  addition  to  this,  give  roasted  onions  and  sweetened  milk  freely." 

I  have  somewhere,  I  think,  seen  drenches  of  milk  and  castor-oil  pre- 
scribed for  sheep  poisoned  with  laurel  ;  and  I  should,  without  farther 
knowledge  of  the  subject,  consider  .it  treatment  promising  oetter  results 
than  the  preceding. 

SORE  FACE. — Sheep  feeding  on  pastures  infested  with  John's  wort 
(Hypericum  perforatum)  not  unfrequently  exhibit  an  irritation  of  the  skin 
about  the  nose  and  face,  which  causes  the  hair  to  drop  off  from  the  parts. 
The  irritation  sometimes  extends  over  the  whole  body,  though  no  such 
case  has  fallen  under  my  observation.  Mr.  Morrel  says  :  t  "If  eaten  in 
too  large  quantities,  it  produces  violent  inflammation  of  the  bowels,  and  is 
frequently  fatal  to  lambs,  and  sometimes  to  adults. " 

Treatment — Rub  a  little  sulphur  and  lard  on  the  irritated  surface.  If 
there  are  symptoms  of  inflammation  of  the  bowels,  Mr.  Morrell  prescribes 

*  American  Shepherd,  p.  3G1.  t  Ib.  374. 


272  SHEEP   HUSBANDRY   IN  THE    SOUTH. 

tar — "  putting  it  into  the  mouth  of  the  sheep  with  a  flattened  stick." 
Abundance  of  salt  is  considered,  and  probably  truly,  a  preventive.  1 
have  a  sheep  pasture  considerably  infested  with  this  difficultly  extermi* 
nated  weed,  and  I  do  not  recollect  an  instance  of  a  sheep  exhibiting  the 
effects  of  eating  it,  in  several  years.  It  is  certain  that  my  sheep  have 
plenty  of  salt,  whether  this  is  the  preventive  or  not. 

SORE  MOUTH. — The  lips  of  sheep  sometimes  become  suddenly  sore  it 
the  winter,  and  swell  to  the  thickness  of  a  man's  hand.  The  malady 
occasionally  attacks  whole  flocks,  and  becomes  quite  fatal.  No  cases  of 
it  having  been  bn-ught  under  my  observation,  I  am  unable  to  state 
whether,  in  accordance  with  the  popular  description,  the  lesions  are  con- 
fined to  the  lips.  I  should  presume  not.  It  is  usually  attributed  to 
noxious  weeds  cut  with  the  hay. 

Treatment. — Mr.  Morrell  states  that  he  has  had  the  d'.sease  in  his  flock, 
and  has  cured  it  immediately  by  smearing  the  diseased  lips  with  tar.* 

Loss  OF  CUD. — The  "  loss  of  the  cud"  ranks  as  an  important  disease  in 
the  nosology  of  the  "  Cattle  Doctor,"  and  frequently  calls  forth  all  the  skill 
of  that  functionary  to  manufacture  a  new  cud,  which  is  placed  in  the 
mouth  of  the  animal  as  a  substitute  for  the  one  which  was  lost!.  That 
person  must  be  little  versed  in  the  physiology  of  ruminants  who  needs  to 
be  told  that  the  accidental  loss  of  one  of  the  cuds,  in  the  process  of  re- 
mastication,  would  be  a  matter  of  no  sort  of  consequence.  The  sheep, 
as  well  as  the  cow,  not  unfrequently  nearly  or  entirely  ceases  to  ruminate 
but  this  is  the  result,  not  the  cause,  of  disease.  It  is  diagnostic  of  all 
important  diseases,  and  when  observed,  its  warning  should  never  go  un- 
heeded. 

HOOVE. — This  is  not  common,  to  any  dangerous  degree,  among  sheep, 
but  if  turned  upon  clover  when  their  stomachs  are  empty,  it  will  some- 
times ensue.  It  is  a  distention  of  the  paunch  by  gas  extricated  from 
the  fermentation  of  its  vegetable  contents,  and  evolved  more  rapidly,  or  in 
larger  quantities,  than  can  be  neutralized  by  the  natural  alkaline  secretions 
of  the  stomach.  When  the  distention  is  great,  the  blood  is  prevented 
from  circulating  in  the  vessels  of  the  rumen,  and  is  determined  to  the 
head.  The  diaphragm  is  mechanically  obstructed  from  making  its  ordi- 
nary contractions,  and  respiration,  therefore,  becomes  difficult  and  imper- 
fect. Death  soon  supervenes.  In  ordinary  cases,  gentle  but  prolonged 
driving  will  effect  a  cure.  Where  the  animal  appears  swelled  almost  to 
bursting,  and  is  disinclined  to  move,  it  is  better  to  at  once  open  tho 
paunch.  At  the  most  protuberant  point  of  the  swelling,  on  the  left  side, 
a  little  below  the  hip  bone,  plunge  a  trochar  or  knife,  sharp  at  the  point 
and  dull  on  the  edge,  into  the  stomach.  The  gas  will  rapidly  escape,  car- 
rying with  it  some  of  the  liquid  and  solid  contents  of  the  stomach.  If  no 
measures  are  taken  to  prevent  it,  the  peristaltic  motion,  as  well  as  the 
collapse  of  the  stomach,  will  soon  cause  the  orifices  through  the  abdomen 
and  paunch  not  to  coincide,  and  thus  portions  of  the  contents  of  the  former 
will  escape  into  the  cavity  of  the  latter.  However  perfect  the  cure  of 
hoove,  these  substances  in  the  belly  will  ultimately  produce  fatal  irritation. 
To  prevent  this,  a  canula  or  little  tube  should  be  inserted  through  both 
orifices  as  soon  as  the  puncture  is  made.  Where  the  case  is  not  imminent, 
alkalies  have  been  sometirres  successfully  administered,  which  combine 

*  American  Shepherd,  p.  373. 


SHEEP    HUSBANDRY    IN    THE    SOUTH.  273 

with  the  carbonic  acid  gas,  and  thus  at  once  reduce  its  volume.  A  flexi- 
ble probang — or,  in  default  of  it,  a  rattan  or  grape-vine — with  a  knob  on 
the  end,  may  be  gently  forced  down  the  gullet,  and  thus  the  gas  permitted 
*o  escape. 

OBSTRUCTION  OF  THE  GULLET  OR  "  CHOKING." — After  pouring  a  Httle 
oil  in  the  throat,  the  obstructing  substance  can  be  frequently  moved  up  or 
down  by  external  manipulation.  If  not,  it  may  usually  be  forced  down 
with  a  flexible  rod,  the  head  of  which  is  guarded  by  a  knob  or  a  little  bag 
of  flax-seed.  The  latter  having  been  dipped  in  hot  water  for  a  minute  or 
two,  is  partly  converted  into  mucilage,  which  constantly  exudes  through 
the  cloth,  and  protects  the  oesophagus  from  laceration.  But  little  force 
must  be  used,  and  the  whole  operation  conducted  with  the  utmost  care 
and  gentleness,  or  the  oesophagus  will  be  so  far  lacerated  as  to  produce 
death,  although  the  obstruction  is  removed. 

FRACTURES. — Of  these  Mr.  Blacklock  concisely  says  : 

'•  If  there  be  no  wound  of  the  soft  parts,  the  bone  being  simply  broken,  the  treatment  73 
extremely  easy.  Apply  a  piece  of  wet  leather,  taking  care  to  ease  the  limb  when  swelling 
supervenes.  When  the  swelling  is  considerable,  and  fever  present,  you  can  do  no  better 
than  open  a  vein  of  the  head  or  neck,  allowing  a  quantity  of  blood  to  escape,  proportioned 
to  the  size  and  condition  of  the  animal,  and  the  urgency  of  the  symptoms.  Purgatives  in 
such  cases  should  never  be  neglected.  Epsom  salts,  in  ounce  doses,  given  either  as  a  gruel 
or  a  drench,  will  be  found  to  answer  the  purpose  well.  If  the  broken  bones  are  kept 
steady,  the  cure  will  be  complete  in  from  three  to  four  weeks,  the  process  of  reunion  always 
proceeding  faster  in  a  young  than  in  an  old  sheep.  Should  the  soft  parts  be  injured  to  any 
extent,  or  the  ends  of  the  bone  protruding,  recovery  is  very  uncertain,  and  it  will  become  a 
question  whether  it  would  not  be  better  at  once  to  convert  the  animal  into  mutton.  " 

TREATMENT. 

METHOD  OP  ADMINISTERING  MEDICINE  INTO  THE  STOMACH. — The 
8tomach  into  which  we  wish  to  administer  medicines,  is  the  fourth,  or 
digesting  stomach.  The  comparatively  insensible  walls  of  the  rumen  are 
but  slightly  acted  upon,  excepting  by  doses  of  very  improper  magnitude. 
For  the  reasons  given  when  the  course  of  the  food  through  the  stomachs 
was  described,  medicine  to  reach  the  fourth  stomach  should  be  given  in  a 
state  as  near  approaching  fluidity  as  may  be.  And  even  then  it  may  be 
given  in  such  a  manner  as  to  defeat  our  object.  Mr.  Youatt  says  : 

"  If  the  animal  forcibly  gulps  fluids  down,  or  if  they  are  given  hastily  and  bodily  by  the 
medical  attendant,  they  will  fall  on  the  canal  at  the  base  of  the  gullet  with  considerable 
momentum,  and  force  asunder  the  pillars  and  enter  the  rumen ;  if  they  ai-e  drank  more 
slowly,  or  administered  gently,  they  will  trickle  down  the  throat  and  glide  over  these 
pillars,  and  pass  on  through  the  maniplus  to  the  true  stomach.  " 

METHOD  OP  BLEEDING. — Bleeding  from  the  ears  or  tail,  as  is  commonly 
practised,  rarely  extracts  a  quantity  of  blood  sufficient  to  do  any  good 
where  bleeding  is  indicated.  To  bleed  from  the  eye-vein,  the  point  of  a 
knife  is  usually  inserted  near  the  lower  extremity  of  the  pouch  below  the 
eye,  pressed  down,  and  then  a  cut  made  inward  toward  the  middle  of 
the  face.  Daubenton  recommends  bleeding  from  the  angular  or  cheek 
vein, 

" in  the  lower  part  of  the  cheek,  at  the  spot  where  the  root  of  the  fourth  tooth  is 

placed,  which  is  the  thickest  part  of  the  cheek,  and  is  marked  on  the  external  surface  of  the 
bone  of  the  upper  jaw  by  a  tubercle,  sufficiently  prominent  to  be  very  sensible  to  the 
finger  when  the  skin  of.  the  cheek  is  touched.  This  tutercle  is  a  certain  index  to  the 

angular  vein  which  is  placed  below The  shepherd  takes  the  sheep  between  his 

legs ;  bis  left  hand  more  advanced  than  his  right,  which  he  places  under  the  head,  and  grasp* 

2  M 


274  SHEEP    HUSBANDRY    IN    THE    SOUTH. 

the  under  jaw  near  to  the  hinder  extremity,  in  order  to  press  the  angular  vein,  which 
in  that  place,  to  make  it  swell ;  he  touches  the  right  cheek  at  the  spot  nearly  equidistant 
t'rorn  the  eye  and  mouth,  and  there  finds  the  tubercle  which  is  to  guide  him.  and  also  feels 
the  angular  vein  swelled  below  this  tubercle ;  lie  then  makes  the  incision  from  below 
upward,  half  a  linger' s  breadth  below  the  middle  of  the  tubercle." 

When  the  vein  is  no  longer  pressed  upon,  the  bleeding  ,will  ordinarily 
cease.  If  not,  a  pin  may  be  passed  through  the  lips  of  the  orifice,  and  a 
lock  of  wool  tied  round  them. 

For  thorough  bleeding,  the  jugular  vein  is  generally  to  be  preferred. 
The  sheep  should  be  firmly  held  by  the  head  by  an  assistant,  and  the  body 
confined  between  his  knees,  with  its  rump  against  a  wall.  Some  of  the 
wool  is  then  cut  away  from  the  middle  of  the  neck  over  the  jugular  vein, 
and  a  ligature,  brought  in  contact  with  the  neck  by  opening  the  wool,  is 
tied  around  it  below  the  shorn  spot  near  the  shoulder.  The  vein  will  soon 
rise.  The  orifice  may  be  secured,  after  bleeding,  as  described  in  the  pre- 
ceding method. 

As  once  before  remarked,  the  good  effects  of  bleeding  depend  almost 
as  much  on  the  rapidity  with  which  the  blood  is  abstracted,  as  on  the 
amount  taken.  This  is  especially  true  in  acute  disorders.  Elacklock 
tersely  remarks  :  "  Either  bleed  rapidly  or  bleed  not  at  all"  The  orifice 
in  the  vein,  therefore,  should  be  of  some  length,  and  I  need  not  inform 
the  least  experienced  practitioner  that  it  should  be  made  lengthwise  with 
the  vein.  A  lancet  is  by  far  the  best  implement,  and  even  a  short-pointed 
penknife  is  preferable  to  the  bungling  fleam. 

Another  important  rule  in  venesection  is  that,  where  indicated  at  all,  it 
should  always  be  resorted  to  as  nearly  as  possible  to  the  commencement  of 
the  malady. 

The  amount  of  blood  drawn  should  never  be  determined  by  admeasure- 
ment, but  by  constitutional  effect — the  lowering  of  the  pulse,  and  indica- 
tions of  weakness.  In  urgent  cases  as,  for  example,  apoplexy  or  cerebral 
inflammation,  it  would  be  proper  to  bleed  until  the  sheep  staggers  or 
falls. 

The  amount  of  blood  in  the  sheep  is  less,  in  comparison,  than  that  in 
the  horse  or  ox.  The  blood  of  the  horse  constitutes  about  one-eighteenth 
part  of  his  weight,  that  of  the  ox  at  least  one-twentieth,  while  the  sheep, 
hi  ordinary  condition,  is  one-twe-nty-second.  For  this  reason,  we  should 
be  more  cautious  in  bleeding  the  latter,  especially  in  frequently  resorting 
to  it.  Otherwise,  the  vital  powers  will  be  rapidly  and  fatally  prostrated. 
Many  a  sheep  is  destroyed  by  bleeding  freely  in  disorders  not  requiring 
it,  and  in  disorders  which  did  require  it  at  the  commencement,  but  of 
which  the  inflammatory  stage  has  passed. 

THE  PLACE  OF  FEELING  THE  PULSE. — The  number  of  pulsations  can  bo 
determined  by  feeling  the  heart  beat  on  the  left  side.  The  femoral 
artery  passes  in  an  oblique  direction  across  the  inside  of  the  thigh,  and 
about  the  middle  of  the  thigh  its  pulsations  and  the  character  of  the  pulse 
can  be  most  readily  noted.  The  pulsations  per  minute  in  a  healthy  adult 
sheep  are  set  down  by  Gasparin  at  65,  by  Youatt  at  70,  and  by  Huitrel 
d'Arboval  at  75.  My  own  observations  accord  most  nearly  with  those  of 
(jrasparin. 

LIST  OF  MEDICINES  EMPLOYED  IN  TREATING  THE  DISEASES  OJT  SHEEP 

ALE. — In  cases  of  debility,  unaccompanied  with  fever,  a  small  amoun« 
of  ale  is  sometimes  found  a  good  stimulant.  It  may  be  given  to  feeblf 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.          275 

sheep  which  have  become  unable  to  stand  from  having  been  too  long  cast 
— especially  if  they  have  laid  on  the  snow,  or  on  damp  cold  ground.  It 
is  sometimes  given  in  addition  to  other  medicine,  in  the  place  of  the  ordi- 
nary stimulants. 

ALOES — Are  occasionally  used  as  a  purgative  in  sheep  medicine  by 
farmers,  but  thdir  use  is  justly  condemned  by  all  veterinarians. 

ALUM — Used  as  an  astringent,  but  is  inferior  to  many  others. 

ANTIMONY  (  The  chloride  or  butyr  of) — the  best  caustic  to  remove  fun- 
gous granulations,  dead  muscular  structures,  etc.,  in  the  last  and  worst 
stage  of  hoof-ail — applied  with  a  swab  or  feather. 

ARSENIC — Employed  in  the  proportion  of  half  a  pound  to  twelve  gal- 
lons of  water,  to  cure  scab.  An  infusion  of  it  is  also  used  to  kill  ticks,  &c. 
From  its  liability  to  adhere  to  vessels,  or  to  come  in  contact  with  sub- 
stances which  may  be  subsequently  eaten,  it  is  a  dangerous  remedy,  and 
one  which  I  would  never  have  employed  on  my  farm. 

BLUE-VITRIOL  (Sulphate  of  Copper) — Used  internally  as  a  strong  tonic, 
but  inferior  to  others.  Dissolved  in  hot  water,  and  applied  to  morbid 
sores,  an  astringent,  alterative,  and  mild  caustic,  of  the  most  admirable 
character.  It  is  superior  to  all  other  applications  in  ordinary  cases  of 
hoof-ail. 

CAMPHOR — Used  with  oil  as  an  external  stimulant  on  swellings,  &c. 

CARRAWAY-SEEDS — Given  favorably  in  doses  of  two  or  three  drachms,. 
as  a  stomachic  with  other  medicines. 

CATECHU — A  valuable  astringent,  in  doses  of  half  a  drachm.  It  is  one 
of  the  ingredients  of  the  celebrated  "  sheep's  cordial,"  spoken  of  under 
the  head  of  "  diarrhea. " 

CHALK,  Prepared,  by  its  alkaline  properties,  neutralizes  the  acidity  of 
the  stomach,  and  thus  checks  diarrhea.  It  is  a  very  valuable  remedy  i» 
doses  from  half  an  ounce  to  an  ounce,  exhibited  as  directed  under  the, 
head  of  "  diarrhea. " 

CORROSIVE  SUBLIMATE  (Bi-chloride  of  Mercury J — The  most  convenient, 
form  in  which  mercury  can  be  exhibited  internally.  The  proto-chloride,  or 
calomel,  from  its  great  gravity,  could  not,  with  any  certainty,  be  made  to- 
reach  the  fourth  stomach.  It  would  seem  that  mercury  should  be  a  use- 
ful remedy  in  several  of  the  diseases  of  sheep.  I  have  administered  it 
only  in  the  cases  specified  under  the  head  of  "  malignant  epizootic- 
catarrh,"  and  then  apparently  with  some  benefit.  It  would  be  well  if  & 
series  of  careful  experiments  could  be  instituted  of  its  value  in  the  appro- 
priate ovine  diseases.  It  is  very  little  used  by  veterinariaus,  in  this  coun- 
try or  Europe.  A  solution  of  corrosive  sublimate,  is  used  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  ticks,  &c.,  and  sometimes  as  a  wash  in  the  scab,  but  its  use  for 
these  purposes  is  liable  to  the  same  objections  with  that  of  arsenic. 

DIGITALIS  (Foxglove) — A  sedative  employed  in  most  of  the  feverr 
medicines  of  the  English  veterinarians.  Dose,  one  scruple. 

EPSOM  SALTS  (Sulphate  of  Magnesia) — In  doses  from  half  an  ounce* 
to  one,  and  in  some  few  cases  two  ounces,  the  best  purgative  which  can, 
in  almost  every  disease,  be  administered  to  sheep. 

GENTIAN — Decidedly  the  best  vegetable  tonic  in  use.  Dose,  from  one 
to  two  drachms. 

GINGER — A  stomachic  am  *onic,  given  with  almost  every  aperient,  in 
doses  of  from  half  a  drachm  tc  a  drachm.  It  prevents  griping. 

IODINE. — The  hydriodate  of  potash  in  the  proportion  of  one  part  to 


'276  SHEEP    HUSBANDRY    IN    THE    SOUTH. 

seven  or  eight  parts,  by  weight,  of  lard,  constitutes  an  ointment  which  ia 
a  powerful  stimulant  to  the  absorbent  vessels,  and  therefore  is  an  excellen 
application  to  glandular  swellings,  or  to  indurated  tumors.     It  is  a  goo 
application  to  the  swelled  udder  (q.  v.J  in  garget. 

LARD — A  mild  and  gentle  purgative  in  doses  of  two  ounces.  The  basis 
of  most  ointments,  arid  applied  externally  in  almost  every  case  as  an 
emollient  arid  lubricant  in  the  place  of  oils. 

LIME,  Carbonate  of- — Used  as  a  caustic  to  run  flocks  of  sheep  through, 
in  the  "  hoof-ail,"  quern  vide. 

LIME,  Clilorldc  of- — An  excellent  antiseptic  and  disinfectant,  and  a  good 
application  to  foul  ulcers. 

LINSEED-OIL — A  good  purgative  in  two  ounce  doses.  Preferable  to 
Epsom  salts  in  cases  of  great  intestinal  irritation,  but  not  otherwise. 

MERCURY. — The  common  mercurial  ointment,  rubbed  down  with  five 
parts  of  lard,  for  severe  cases,  and  seven  parts  for  ordinary  cases,  of  scab, 
is  an  effectual  cure, 

MURIATIC  ACID  (Spirit  of  Salt) — Next  to  chloride  of  antimony,  the  best 
<-a.ustic  in  the  worst  stage  of  hoof-ail. 

NITRATE  OP  POTASH  (Nitre  or  Saltpetre) — In  doses  one  drachm,  a 
cooling  diuretic. 

NITRATE  OF  SILVER  (Lunar  Caustic) — Superior  to  all  other  caustics,  but 
too  expensive  for  general  use.  For  poisonous  wounds,  and  particularly 
for  the  bite  of  a  mad  dog,  it  has  no  substitute. 

NITRIC  ACID  (Aquafortis) — Sometimes  used  as  a  substitute  for  chloride 
of  antimony,  or  muriatic  acid,  as  a  caustic  in  hoof-ail.  Used  by  drovers, 
also,  to  harden  the  soles  of  feet  which  have  become  thin  and  tender  by 
driving.  It  is  touched  over  the  sole  with  a  feather. 

OPIUM-— An  invaluable  sedative,  and  anti-spasmodic,  and  is  employed  in 
nearly  all  prescriptions  for  diarrhea 'and  dysentary,  and  also  in  colic  drinks. 
It  is  an  important  part  of  the  "  sheeps  cordial."  It  is  commonly  used  in 
the  form  of  a  tincture,  or  laudanum.  Dose,  one  drachm. 

PEPPER,  Black — Given  in  small  quantities  in  milk,  to  new-born  lambs, 
-when  chilled. 

PIMENTO  (Allspice) — A  substitute  for  ginger,  in  the  same  doses,  but  not 
«o  valuable. 

RHUBARB — Unites  the  properties  of  a  cathartic  and  subsequent  astrin- 
gent. In  small  doses  it  is  a  tonic  and  stomachic,  invigorating  the  diges- 
tion. When  the  bowels  are  relaxed  and  torpid,  and  the  stomach  in  a 
feeble  state,  it  would  seem  the  most  appropriate  purgative,  when  a  purga- 
tive is  indicated. 

SALT  (Muriate  of  Soda) — An  ounce  constitutes  a  purgative  ;  in  small 
•quantities  a  tonic  and  stomachic.  The  necessity  of  keeping  sheep  freely 
supplied  with  salt  has  been  referred  to  under  Summer  and  Winter  Man- 
agement. 

SULPHATE  OF  IRON  (Copperas,  or  Green  Vitriol) — Used  in  washes  for 
•the  hoof-ail,  but  superseded  by  sulphate  of  copper.  Internally,  a  tonic. 

SULPHUR,  Flower  of- — In  doses  of  from  one  to  two  ounces,  a  gooc 
aperient.  It  is  the  basis  of  various  ointments. 

SULPHURIC  ACID  (Oil  of  Vitriol) — A  powerful  caustic  used  as  a  sub« 
ctitute  for  the  acids  already  alluded  to,  in  the  worst  stage  «>f  hoof-aiL 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  THE  SOUTH.          277 


SPIRIT  OF  TAR — Destroys  maggots,  and  repels  the  attack  of  flies.  Fliea 
will  not  approach  a  part  over  which  it  has  been  smeared. 

TAR — Is  a  valuable  application  to  the  feet,  nose,  back  of  the  horns,  &c., 
under  the  various  circumstances  detailed  in  Summer  Management,  and  in 
the  treatment  of  grub  in  the  head,  hoof-ail,  &c. 

TOBACCO — An  infusion  of  it  destroys  vermin,  and  also  is  a  cure  for 
scab,  qucm  vide. 

TURPENTINE,  Spirits  of— Prevents  the  attack  of  flies,  and  drives  away 
maggots.  It  is  a  useful  application  to  old  sores,  wounds,  &c. 

VERDI-SRIS  (Acetate  of  Copper) — Used  in  hoof-ail ;  but  adds  nothing,  1 
think,  to  the  good  effects  of  the  sulphate  of  copper. 

ZINC,  Carbonate  of- — Mixed  with  lard,  constitutes  a  valuable  emollient 
and  healing  ointment.  It  is  mixed  in  the  proportion  of  one  part  of  the 
carbonate,  by  weight,  to  eight  of  the  lard. 


278  SHEEP    HUSBANDRY    IN    THE    SOUTH. 


LETTER    XVII. 

SHEEP-DOGS,  WOOL  DEPOTS,  &c. 


:imation  in  which  dogs  have  been  held  by  different  nations,  &c...The  Sheep-Dog — Button  « 
ion  of  him.  ..The  Spanish  Sheep-Dog — Origin — Introduction  into  the  United  States — Value— 
te — his  history... The  Hungarian  Sheep-Dog — Mr.  I'aget's  description  of— probable  origin— ']  ha 


The 

description 

Arrogante — his  history... The  Hungarian" Sheep-Dog — Mr.  1'aget's  description  of— probable  origii 


Depots— Mr.  Blanchard's  account  of  their  oridn — Letter  from  Mr.  Peters,  describing  their  object,  methods 
of  doing  business,  and  advantages — Utility  of  these  depots— their  especial  utility  to  the  South. ..A  correc- 
tion—Mr.  Ruffin.-.Note  in  relation  to  Australia— Statistics  of  its  Wool  Trade  brought  down  to  1846. 

Dear  Sir  : — In  all  ages  of  the  world,  and  among  nearly  all  nations, 
savage  and  civilized,*  the  dog  has  been  the  friend  and  cherished  com- 
panion of  man.  The  Egyptians  placed  him  among  their  gods.  The 
Greeks  held  him  in  the  highest  estimation.  His  figure  mingles  with  that 
of  warriors  and  demi-gods  on  their  friezes ;  and  Argus,  the  dog  of 
Ulysses,  lives  as  immortal  in  the  Odyssey,  (vide  Book  XVII.,  j>.  344^400) 
as  his  sagacious  master,  or  the  faithful  Penelope.  Alexander  the  Great 
founded  a  city  in  honor  of  a  dog !  The  Romans  treated  him  with  similar 
respect.  His  skin  covered  the  statues  of  the  sacred  Lares ;  his  figure,  as 
the  emblem  of  care  and  vigilance,  stood  at  the  feet  of  these  household 
gods— venerated  and  loved  as  the  tutelary  manes  of  departed  ancestors. 
Horace  in  his  Ode  to  Cassius  Severus  (Book  F".,  Ode  VI.,)  compares  him- 
self to  the  Molossian,  or  the  tawny  Spartan  d  ig,  which  defends  the  flocks, 
and  with  ears  erect,  pursues  the  wild  beast  through  the  deep  snows.  Virgil, 
in  the  delightful  Georgics,  admonishes  the  Roman  shepherds  not  to  neglect 
the  care  of  their  dogs  : 

•'  Nee  tibi  cura  canum  fuerit  postrema  :  sed  un& 
Veloces  Spartaj  catulos,  acremque  Molossum, 
Pasce.  aero  pingui :  nunquam,  custodibus  illis, 
Nocturnum  stabulis  furem,  incursusque  Inporum, 
Aut  impacatos  &  tergo  horrebis  Iberos." 

[Georg.  Liber  III.,  commencing  at  line  404. 

Thus  translated  by  Sotheby : 

Nor  slight  thy  dogs  ;  on  whey  the  mastiffs  feed, 

Moloesixn  race,  and  hounds  of  Spartan  breed ; 
Beneath  their  care,  nor  wolves,  nor  thieves  by  night, 
Nor  wild  Iberian  shall  thy  fear  excite. 

These  "  Spartan  hounds,  "  I  may  remark,  par  parenthesis,  are  the  ones 
spoken  of  by  Shakspeare,  in  that  glorious  description  of  the  music  of  a 
pack  in  full  cry,  and  of  the  points  of  a  hound,  in  Midsummer-Night*  i 
Dream : 

Hippolita.—l  was  with  Hercules,  and  Cadmus,  once, 

When  in  a  wood  of  Crete  they  bayed  the  bear 
With  hounds  of  Sparta  :  never  did  I  hear 
Such  gallant  chiding ;  for,  besides  the  groves, 
The  fckies,  the  fountains,  every  region  near 
Seemed  all  one  mutual  cry  :  I  never  heard 
So  musical  a  discord,  such  sweet  thunder. 

Tfieteu*. — My  hounds  are  bred  out  of  the  Spartan  kind, 

So  flowed,  so  sanded;  and  their  heads  are  hung 
With  ears  that  sweep  away  the  morning  dew  : 
Crook-kneed,  and  dew-lapped,  like  Thessalian  bulla ; 
Slow  in  pursuit,  but  matched  in  mouth  like  bells, 
Each  under  each.    A  cry  more  tunable 
Was  never  hallo'd  to,  nor  cheered  with  horn, 
In  Crete,  in  Sparta,  nor  in  Thessaly. 

*  The  only  exceptions  which  now  occur  to  me  are  the  Jews,  the  Hindoos,  and  the  Mahommedan  nadaw 
and  tribet . 


SHEEP    HUSBANDRY   IN    THE    SOOTH.  279 

Arrian,  Pliny,  Oppian,  ^Elian,  and  a  host  of  othei  writers  of  the  Empire, 
descant  on  the  praises  oi'  the  dog,  or  give  anecdotes  of  his  courage, 
strength,  and  fidelity. 

In  the  chivalric  ages,  he  was  the  companion  of  knights  and  princes— tie 
eoul  of  the  manly  field-sports  of  those  times.  Even  prelates  followed  him 
to  the  chase.  The  abbots  of  St.  Hubert  bred  a  celebrated  race  of  hounds 
St.  Hubert  himself,  St.  Eustace,  and  many  others  on  the  canonized  calen 
dar,  were  keen  hunters.  "  Whereupon,  "  says  the  author  of  the  "  Noble 
Art  of  Venerie,"  &c.,  published  in  1611,  "we  may  conceive  that  (by  the 
grace  of  God)  all  good  huntsmen  shall  follow  them  into  Paradise  !  "  Truly, 
a  consoling  religious  sequitur  ! 

Scott,  in  his  beautifully  descriptive  poetry,  and  still  more  poetical  prose, 
has  given  us  a  whole  picture  gallery  of  dogs,  from  the  Middle  Ages  down. 
The  few  which  start  up  first  in  memory,  (in  my  memory,)  because,  proba- 
bly, linked  with  the  most  interesting  associations,  are  Fangs — a  genuine 
Saxon — gaunt  and  unkempt,  but  stanch  as  his  master,  Gurth,  the  son  of 
Beowulph  ;  the  noble  hound  of  Sir  Kenneth  ;  the  "  two  dogs  of  black 
Saint  Hubert's  breed,"  that  with  Fitz-James  pursued  their  quarry  into  the 
wild  pass  of  the  Trosachs  ;  the  faithful  little  terrier,  which, 


"  on  the  dark  brow  of  the  mighty  Hellvellyn, 


The  much-loved  remains  of  her  master  defended, 
And  chased  the  hill  fox  and  the  raven  away ; " 

and  last,  not  least,  Hector  Mclntyre's  bitch  Juno,  which  stole  the  butter, 
and  broke  the  "  lachr amatory  from  Clochmaben,"  of  the  glorious  old 
Antiquary.  They  stand  out  on  the  canvas  like  Landseer's  pictures.  We 
pause  to  hear  them  bark  !  It  has  often  occurred  to  me  that  Scott  omitted 
a  fine  opportunity,  indeed,  made  a  hiatus  vale  dcflendus,  in  not  introducing 
one  or  more  of  the  'Alpine  spaniels — or  dogs  of  Mount  St.  Bernard — into 
his  Anne  of  Geierstein,  providing  it  could  be  done,  (on  which  point  I  am 
uninstructed,)  without  a  violent  anachronism.  When  Arthur  clung  dizzy 
and  stupefied  to  the  trunk  of  the  tree  which  hung  over  the  beetling  vergd 
of  the  precipice — when  the  cry  of  the  Swiss  maiden  announced  approach- 
ing succor,  should  it  not  have  had  for  its  accompaniment  the  baying  of 
one  of  those  great  dogs  of  the  Alps — the  deep  and  far-heard  rever Dera- 
tions of  which  so  often  calls  help  to  the  perishing  traveler,  for  miles, 
through  the  howling  storm  1  Should  not  the  dog  of  Donnerhugel,  on  the 
night-watch  of  Graffs-lust,  have  been  of  the  same  breed — huge,  shaggy,  and 
daring  as  himself?  The  portrait  of  Barry,  a  Bernardine  dog  which  saved 
the  lives  of  forty  persons,  and  finally  perished  in  an  avalanche  in  guid- 
ing some  travelers  to  St.  Pierre,  is  to  be  found  in  every  print-shop.  It 
represents  him  carrying  a  child  on  his  shoulders — clinging  by  his  shaggy 
hair, — which  he  found  in  the  Glacier  of  Balsore,  and  rescued  from 
approaching  death. 

Scott  is  not  the  only  modern  poet  who  has  admired  and  sung  the  praises 
of  the  dog.  And  I  do  not  recollect  the  instance  of  one,  who  has  mentioned 
him,  that  is,  the  tvcll-bred  dog,  who  has  not  praised  him,  except  Byron 
in  these  moody  lines : 

"Perchance  my  dog  will  whine  in  vain. 

Till  fed  by  stranger  hands ; 
But  long  ere  I  come  back  again 

Would  tear  me  where  he  stands." 

In  his  epitaph  on  his  Newfoundland  dog,  the  noble  poet  retracted  this 
ungenerous  libel,  and  pays  one  of  the  warmest  tributes  to  the  fidelity  of 
the  aog,  on  record. 

Volumes  of  anecdotes   of  canine  sagacity  might  te  easily  compiled 


280  SHEEP    HUSBANDRY   IN    THE    SOUTH. 


Reasoning  powers  the  dog  undoubtedly  possesses,  quite  on  a  par  with 
ordinary  humanity,  if  we  may  believe  scores  of  these  writers.  But  it  ii 
probable  that  the  grandsires  of  some  of  them  "  drew  good  long-lows  at 
Hastings,"  and  they,  like  Hubert,  may  lay  claim  to  a  hereditary  knowledge 
of  the  weapon.  It  is  to  be  feared  that  dog-stories  will  soon  be  sunk  to  a 
par  \v\\hfis7i-stories  !  The  truth  is,  the  dog  knows  enough,  and  there  aie 
authenticated  cases  enough  of  his  wonderful  sagacity,  without  having  an 
air  of  discredit  thrown  over  the  whole  of  them,  by  fanciful  exaggera- 
tions. 

The  comparative  intelligence,  and  the  comparative  value  to  man,  of  the 
different  species  of  the  dog,  would  be  very  differently  estimated  by  those 
who  have  been  placed  in  situations  to  be  particularly  benefited  by  the 
peculiar  instincts  of  this  race  or  that.  Nearly  every  species  has  some 
traits,  some  uses,  where  it  is  unequaled  by  the  others ;  and  each  in  its 
place  is  valuable.  I  do  not,  however,  mean  these  remarks,  or  any  others 
which  I  have  made  in  favor  of  the  dog,  to  apply  to  the  mongrel  tribe  of 
curs.  That  there  have  been  valuable  individuals  from  this  disreputable 
stock,  all  must  admit;  but  the  miserable,  cowardly  and  thievish  character 
of  the  mass  of  them  has  been  proverbial  in  all  time.  Far  too  many  of 
them  are  kept  by  our  farmers  in  the  place  of  noble  and  serviceable  animals 
and  multitudes  of  them,  owned  by  idlers  and  vagabonds,  infest  the  country 
and  do  ten  times  more  mischief  to  our  flocks  than  diseases  and  beasts  of 
prey. 

THE  SHEEP-DOG. — Buffbn  thus  eloquently  describes  the  sheep-dog,*  and 
compares  his  sagacity  and  value  to  man,  with  other  racest  : 

"  This  animal,  faithful  to  Man,  will  always  preserve  a  portion  of  his  empire  and  a  degree 
of  superiority  over  other  beings.  He  reigus  at  the  head  of  his  flock,  and  makes  himself  bettci 
understood  than  the  voice  of  the  shepherd.  Safety,  order,  and  discipline  are  the  fruits  ol 
his  vigilance  and  animal.  They  are  a  people  submitted  to  his  management,  whom  he  con- 
ducts and  protects,  and  against  whom  he  never  applies  force  but  for  the  preservation  of  good 
order.  ...  If  we  consider  that  this  animal,  notwithstanding  his  ugliness,  and  his  wild 
and  melancholy  look,  is  superior  in  instinct  to  all  others ;  that  he  has  a  decided  character  v\ 
which  education  has  comparatively  little  share  ;  that  he  is  the  only  animal  born  perfectly 
trained  for  the  service  of  others  ;  that,  guided  by  natural  powers  alone,  he  applies  himself  to 
the  cai'e  of  our  flocks,  a  duty  which  he  executes  with  singular  assiduity,  vigilance,  and  fidel- 
ity ;  that  he  conducts  them  with  an  admirable  intelligence,  which  is  a  part  and  portion  01 
himself ;  that  his  sagacity  astonishes  at  the  same  time  that  it  gives  repo«e  to  his  master, 
while  it  requires  great  time  and  trouble  to  instruct  other  dogs  for  the  purposes  to  which  they 
are  destined ;  if  we  reflect  on  these  facts,  we  shall  be  confirmed  in  the  opinion  that  the 
shepherd's  dog  is  the  true  dog  of  Nature,  the  stock  and  model  of  the  whole  species." 

I  shall  call  attention  to  but  a  few  of  the  most  distinguished  varieties  of 
the  sheep-dog. 

THE  SPANISH  SHEEP-!)OG. — Of  the  origin  of  this  celebrated  race,  I  do 
not  recollect  to  have  seen  anything.  I  have  observed  them  several  times 
spoken  of,  latterly,  in  newspapers  and  agricultural  publications,  as  the 
same  variety  with  the  Alpine  Spaniel,  or  Bernardino  dog.  This,  I  think, 
must  be  an  error,  though  there  may  be  a  general  resemblance  between 
the  two  species.  Arrogante,  on  the  next  page,  though  a  dog  of  pro- 
iigious  power,  decidedly  lacks  the  massive  proportions,  both  in  body 
and  limbs,  of  several  Bernardino  dogs,  which  I  have  seen,  of  un  question  a- 

*  I  stated  near  the  close  of  Letter  V.  thnt  there  are  no  shepherd  dogs  large  and  powerful  enough  to  en- 
counter and  kill  wolves  and  vagrant  dogs,  except  the  great  Sheep-dog  of  Spain,  and  that  he  is  so  ferocioiu 
thet  he  might  frequently  bring  his  owner  into  difficulty,  and  even  endanger  human  life. — I  was  mistaken. 
Crosses  between  this  and  other  species  seems  to  have  mitigated  the  ferocity  of  the  Spanish  dog,  and  BtUI 
left  it  within  the  power  of  two  to  overcome  a  wolf,  as  will  appear  from  what  follows. 

*  Buffon'a  Natural  History,  vol.  v.,  pp.  306,  318. 


SHEEP    HUSBANDRY    IN   THE    SOUTH. 


281 


hie  lineage.  The  temper  and  disposition  of  the  two  species,  too,  seems  tc 
me  to  be  essentially  different. 

Mr.  Trimmer,  and  various  other  foreign  writers,  speak  in  warm  terms 
of  the  value  of  the  Spanish  sheep-dog,  for  guarding  the  migratory  flocks 
of  that  country  from  the  attacks  of  wolves — staying  behind  to  protect  fee- 
ble and  lagging  sheep,  &c.  In  the  Memoirs  of  the  Pennsylvania  Agricul- 
tural Society,  there  is  a  communication  from  the  well-known  John  Haie 
Powell,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia,  from  which  the  following  are  extracts  : — 

"  The  first  importations  of  Merino  sheep  were  accompanied  by  some  of  the  large  ar.d 
powerful  dogs  of  Spain,  possessing  all  the  valuable  characteristics  of  the  English  shepherd"* 

dog,  with  sagacity,  fidelity  and  strength  peculiar  to  themselves Their  ferocity,  when 

aroused  by  any  intruder,  their  attachment  to  their  own  flock,  and  devotion  to  their  master 
would,  in  the  uncultivated  parts  of  America,  make  them  an  acquisition  of  infinite  value,  by 
affording  a  defence  against  wolves,  which  they  readily  kill,  and  vagrant  cur  dogs,  by  which 
our  flocks  are  often  destroyed.  The  force  of  their  instinctive  attachment  to  sheep,  and  then 
resolution  in  attacking  every  dog  which  passes  near  to  their  charge,  have  been  forcibly 
evinced  upon  my  farm. ' 

Fia  71. 


AKROGANTK — A    SPANISH    SHEEP-DOO 

Arrogante,  whose  portrait  is  above  given  with  admirable  fidelity,  was 
imported  from  Spain  with  a  flock  of  Merinos,  a  number  of  years  since,  by 
a  gentleman  residing  near  Bristol,  England.  His  subsequent  owner, 
Francis  Rotch,  Esq.,  of  this  State,  thus  describes  him  in  a  letter  to  me, 
which,  though  not  intended  for  publication,  I  will  venture  to  make  a  few 
extracts  from  : 

"  I  have,  as  you  desired,  made  you  a  sketch  of  the  Spanish  sheep-dog  Arrogante,  and  a 
villainous  looking  rascal  he  is.  A  worse  countenance  I  hardly  ever  saw  on  a  dog .  His 
small  blood-shot  eyes,  set  close  together,  give  him  that  sinister,  wolfish  look,  which  is  most 
unattractive  ;  but  his  countenance  is  indicative  of  his  character.  There  was  nothing  affec- 
tionate or  joyous  about  him.  He  never  forgaye  an  injury  or  an  insult:  offend  him.  and  it 
was  for  life.  I  have  often  been  struck  with  his  resemblance  to  his  nation.  He  was  proud 
and  reserved  in  the  extreme,  but  not  quarrelsome.  Every  little  cur  would  fly  out  at  him, 
as  at  some  strange  animal;  and  I  have  seen  them  fasten  for  a  moment  on  his  heavy,  bushy  tail, 
and  yet  he  would  stride  on;  never  breaking  his  long, '  loping,'  shambling  trot.  Once  I  saw  him 

2  N 


282  SHEEP   HUSBANDRY    IN    THE    SOUTH. 

turn,  and  the  retribution  was  awful  !  It  was  upon  a  large,  powerful  mastiff'  we  kept  as  « 
night-guard  in  the  Bank.  He  then  put  forth  his  strength,  which  proved  tremendous  !  H.t 
coat  hung  about  him  in  thick,  loose,  matted  folds,  dirty  and  uncared-for, — so  that  I  presume 
a  dog  never  got  hold  of  anything  about  him  deeper  than  his  thick,  tough  skin,  which  was 
twice  too  large  to  fit  him  anywhere,  and  especially  around  the  neck  and  shoulders.  Tho 
only  other  evidence  of  his  uncommon  strength  which  T  had  observed,  was  the  perfect  eas<» 
with  which  he  threw  himself  over  a  high  wall  or  paling,  which  often  drew  my  attention, 
because  he  seemed  to  me  wanting  in  that  particular  physical  development  which  wo  are 
accustomed  to  consider  as  necessary  to  muscular  power.  He  was  flat-chested,  and  flat- 
Hided,  with  a  somewhat  long  back  and  narrow  loin.  (My  drawing  foreshortens  his  length.) 
Flis  neck,  forearm  and  thigh  certainly  indicated  strength.  If  the  Spanish  wolf  and  the  dog 
ever  cohabit,  he  most  assuredly  had  in  him  such  a  cross ;  the  very  effluvia  of  the  animal  be- 
trayed it.  In  all  in  which  he  differed  from  the  beautiful  Spanish  shepherd-dog,  he  waa 
wolfish  both  in  form  and  habits.*  But,  though  no  parlor  beauty,  Arrogante  was  unquestion- 
ably a  dog  of  immense  value  to  the  mountain-shepherd.  Several  times,  he  had  met  the 
large  wolf  of  the  Appenines,  and  without  aid  slain  his  antagonist.  The  shepherds  who  bred 
him  said  it  was  an  affair  of  no  doubtful  issue,  when  he  encountered  a  wolf  single-handed. 
Mis  history,  after  reaching  England,  you  know." 

Some  portions  of  that  history  I  cannot  resist  the  temptation  of  narrating, 
as  illustrative  of  the  character  of  this  interesting  breed,  and  commemora- 
tive of  the  virtues  of  the  stern,  but  honest  and  dauntless  Arrogante.  If 
his  courage  was  tinctured  with  ferocity,  and  sometimes  instigated  by  a 
revenge,  going  a  little  beyond  the  canon  which  permits  bad  debts  to  be 
paid  in  kind,  he  did  everything  openly  !  He  made  no  sneakish,  cur:lik"e 
attacks,  on  the  heels  of  his  foe.  By  him,  as  by  Robin  Hood  and  his  merry 
men — commemorated  by  Drayton — 

"  Who  struck  below  the  kme  [was]  not  counted  then  a  man  ;" 

and  his  spring  was  always  at  the  tliroat  of  his  quarry.  But  he  made  not 
that  deadly  spring  until  he  gave  "  warning  fair  and  true,"  and  never  with- 
out provocation.! 

Soon  after  Arrogante's  arrival  in  England,  a  ewe  under  his  charge 
chanced  to  get  cast  in  a  ditch,  during  the  temporary  absence  of  the  Span- 
ish shepherd  who  had  accompanied  the  flock  and  dog  at  their  importation. 
An  English  shepherd,  in  a  spirit  of  vaunting,  insisted  on  relieving  the  fal- 
len sheep,  in  preference  to  having  the  absent  shepherd  called,  though 
warned  by  his  companions  to  desist.  The  stern  stranger  dog  met  him  at 
the  gate  and  also  warned  him  with  sullen  growls,  growing  more  menacing 
as  he  approached  the  sheep.  The  shepherd  was  a  powerful  and  bold  man, 
and  felt  that  it  was  too  late  now  to  retract  with  credit.  On  reaching  the 
sheep,  he  bent  carefully  forward,  with  his  eyes  on  the  dog,  which  instantly 
made  a  spring  at  his  throat.  A  quick  forward  movement  of  his  arm  saved 
his  throat,  but  the  arm  was  so  dreadfully  lacerated  that  immediate  am- 
putation became  necessary.  To  save  the  dog,  which  had  but  done  his 
duty,  as  he  7tad  been  tauglit  it,  from  the  popular  excitement,  he  was  ship- 
ped in  a  vessel  which  sailed  that  very  afternoon,  from  Bristol  for  America. 
He  was  sent  to  Francis  Rotch,  Esq.,  then  a  resident  of  New-Bedford. 

For  a  long  time  Arrogante  would  not  pay  the  least  attention  to  his  new 
master ;  the  voice  of  the  latter  would  scarcely  arrest  him  for  a  moment. 
After  attempting  in  vain,  for  several  weeks,  to  obtain  some  recognition  of 
mastership  from  him,  Mr.  Rotch  chained  him  securely  to  a  tree,  punished 
him  severely,  and  then,  with  not  a  few  misgivings,  released  him.  But  he 
submitted,  for  he  well  knew  that  the  punishment  came  from  his  master, 
and  afterward  gave  a  cold,  haughty  obedience  to  all  required  of  him. 

*  I  never  have  supposed,  from  the  several  conversations  which  I  have  had  with  Mr.  Rotch  on  the  sub 
ject,  that  Arrogante  was  anything  less  than  a  thorough-bred  Spanish  shepherd-dop.     Mr.  Rotch  here  means 
that  he  was  an  ill-favored  individual  of  the  family — and  he  thinks  that  this  may  be  owing  lo  a  bar-sinistrt 
s»n  his  escutcheon,  left  there  by  eome  wolfish  gallant.    His  temper  was  even  less  ferocious  than  Mr.  Powel' 
ijewibes  that  of  At*  Spanish  dogs. 

•  Was  there  anything  wolf-like  in  all  of  this  K 


SHEEP    HUSBANDRY    IN    THE    SOUTH.  283 

Stupid  ami  apparently  sleeping  much  of  the  day,  nothing,  however, 
es -aped  his  observation,  or  was  subsequently  erased  from  his  memory.  li 
led  round  a  building,  or  enclosure,  or  even  an  open  space,  at  night-fall,  in 
a  manner  to  evince  particular  design,  during  the  entire  night  like  a  senti- 
nel he  traversed  some  part  of  the  guarded  ring,  permitting  neither  man  nor 
beast  to  pass  in  or  out  from  it. 

Arroguiite  was  a  "  temperance  man,"  of  the  straightest  sect — an  out-arid 
out  teetotaler — and  if  tolerant  of  deviations  from  his  creed,  he  could  bear 
none,  from  the  sobriety  of  his  practice.  Never  would  he  confess  acquain- 
tance with  a  drunken  man — though  the  hand  of  that  man  fed  him.  The 
bailiff,  who  usually  fed  Arrogante,  used  occasionally  to  come  home  late  in 
the  evening  a  little  "J&tt/'and  never  could  he  in  this  condition  get  his  foot 
on  the  premises  !  The  old  man  has  plead  guilty  to  more  than  one  night's 
lodgings  on  the  ground,  in  consequence  of  Arrogante's  temperance  scru- 
ples. 

On  one  occasion  a  couple  of  sailors,  to  take  advantage  of  the  tide,  came 
unexpectedly,  and  without  giving  any  notice,  on  the  farm,  at  3  A.  M.,  to 
take  away  some  potatoes  they  had  purchased.  Arrogante  thought  it 
was  not  so  "  nominated  in  the  bond  ;"  he  forced  them  to  clamber  into  an 
empty  cart,  and  there  he  kept  them  until  morning.  They  tried  the  expe- 
riment of  putting  a  leg  over  the  side  once  or  twice,  but  were  admonished 
in  too  unequivocal  a  manner  to  keep  quiet,  to  need  any  farther  hints. 
They  lost  the  tide,  and  were  in  great  tribulation,  but,  like  honest  fellows,, 
confessed  the  fault  was  their  own. 

I  might,  did  limits  allow,  recount  many  more  anecdotes  displaying  the 
iron  determination  and  fixed  precision  with  which  this  noble  dog  obeyed 
his  instructions  in  guarding  sheep  or  other  property  committed  to  his 
charge.  He  was  a  decided  "  strict  constructionist,"  swerving  not  from  the 
letter  of  his  commission,  and  woe  to  him  who  attempted  to  countervail  the 
tenor  of  that  commission  ! 

Drunkenness  was  destined  to  prove  as  fatal  as  it  was  detestable,  to  Arro- 
gante. A  gentleman  occupied  a  cottage  orne  by  the  sea-side,  the  lane  to 
which  ran  along  the  farm,  and  near  the  stable  which  Arrogante  made  his 
head-quarters,  when  not  on  particular  duty.  The  gentleman  wan  reg- 
ularly introduced  to  him,  and  warned  against  ever  provoking  him.  Re- 
turning him  home  late  one  Saturday  evening  on  horseback,  from  a  conviv- 
ial meeting,  as  he  galloped  through  the  lane,  he  met  the  dog,  and  wan- 
tonly struck  him  or  struck  at  him  with  a  hunting-whip.  He  was  a  large 
man,  and  rode  a  tall,  powerful  horse,  and  being  under  speed,  he  escaped 
before  the  astonished  dog  recovered  from  his  surprise.  But  the  insulted 
blood  of  Castile  rushed  in  boiling  currents  through  the  veins  of  the  mad- 
dened Arrogante.  He  felt,  like  his  countryman  De  Lerma,  in  Epes  Sar- 
gent's tragedy  of  Velasco — 

"  Struck  like  a  menitil  !  buffeted  !  degraded  ! 
Spare  not  my  life,  if  mercy  thou  would  show, 
Thou  givest  me  back  only  what  thou  hast  made 
A  burden,  a  disgrace,  a  misery  !" 

But   AiTOgante  frit  both  the  power  and  will  to  avenge  himself,  and  he 
resolved  on  a  bloody  retribution. 

The  next  mcrning  the  gentleman  was  on  his  way  to  church,  mounted  as 
oefore.  The  dog  heard  and  knew  the  tread  of  his  horse,  rose  from  his  laii 
in  the  stable,  walked  to  the  road-side,  and  stood  grimly  awaiting  his  in- 
Bulter.  When  the  latter  had  approached  within  a  few  yards,  Arrogante, 
like  a  missile  projected  from  a  catapult,  met  him  in  the  air,  in  a  deadly 
spring  at  his  throat.  The  sudden  jump  and  swerve  of  the  frightened  and 


284  SHEEP    HLSBANDRY    IN    THE    SOUTH. 

very  active  horse,  saved  the  rider's  throat  and  his  life — but  so  narrowly 
nad  he  escaped,  that  he  felt  the  gnashing  teeth  of  the  frenzied  brute 
scrape  down  his  dress,  where  they  came  in  contact  with  and  closed  upon 
his  watch,  tearing  it  away  with  the  adjacent  clothing.  The  horseman  fled 
for  his  life,  while  the  baffled  dog  vented  his  rage  on  the  gold  watch 
which  he  had  captured,  by  chewing  it  into  atoms  !  The  cause  of  this  ter 
rible  onset  not  being  disclosed  at  the  time,  Mr.  R.,  though  convinced  from 
the  character  of  the  dog  that  he  had  not  been  the  aggressor,  felt  constrain- 
ed to  give  orders  to  have  him  shot. 

THE  HUNGARIAN  SHEEP-DOG. — The  following  description  of  the  Hunga- 
rian Sheep-Dog,  occurs  in  Paget's  "  Hungary  and  Transylvania  :"* 

"  It  would  be  unjust  to  quit  the  subject  of  the  Puszta  Shepherd  without  making  due  and 
honorable  mention  of  his  constant  companion  and  friend,  the  juhfisz-hulya — the  Hungarian 
shepherd  dog.  The  shepherd  dog  is  comnjonly  white,  sometimes  inclined  to  a  reddish 
brown,  and  about  the  size  of  our  Newfoundland  dog.  His  sharp  nose,  short  erect  ears, 
shaggy  coat,  and  bushy  tail  give  him  much  the  appearance  of  a  wolf ;  indeed,  so  great  is  the 
resemblance,  that  I  have  known  a  Hungarian  gentleman  mistake  a  wolf  for  one  of  his  own 
dogs.  Except  to  their  masters,  they  are  so  savage  that  it  is  unsafe  for  a  stranger  to  enter  the 
court-yard  of  a  Hungarian  cottage,  withoulanns.  I  speak  from  experience  ;  for  as  I  was  walk- 
ing through  the  yard  of  a  post-house,  where  some  of  these  dogs  were  lying  about,  apparently 
asleep,  one  of  them  crept  after  me,  and  inflicted  a  severe  wound  on  my  leg,  of  which  I  stiil 
bear  the  marks.  Before  I  could  turn  round,  the  dog  was  already  far  off ;  for.  like  the  wolf, 
they  bite  by  snapping,  but  never  hang  to  the  object  like  the  bull-dog  or  mastiff.  Their  saga- 
city in  driving  and  guarding  the  sheep  and  cattle,  and  their  courage  in  protecting  them  from 
wolves  and  robbers,  are  highly  praised ;  and  the  shepherd  is  so  well  aware  of  the  value  of  a 
good  one,  that  it  is  difficult  to  induce  him  to  part  with  it." 

I  have  little  doubt  that  the  Hungarian  dogs  above  described  are  the 
descendants  of  the  Spanish  ones,  introduced  into  Hungary  with  the  Meri- 
no sheep,  though  possibly  they  maybe  somewhat  crossed  by  interbreeding 
with  the  dogs  of  the  country. 

THE  MEXICAN  SHEEP-DOG. — The  following  acccount  of  these  noble  dog8 
appears  as  a  communication  from  Mr.  J.  H.  Lyman,  in  the  third  volume  of 
the  American  Agriculturist  :t 

;<  Although  Mr.  Kendall  and  some  other  writers  have  described  this  wonderful  animal  as 
a  cross  of  the  Newfoundland  dog,  such,  I  think,  cannot  be  the  fact;  on  the  contrary,  I  have 
no  doubt  he  is  a  genuine  descendant  of  the  Alphie  mastiff,  or  more  properly,  Spanish  shep- 
herd dog  introduced  by  them  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest.  He  is  only  to  be  found  in  the 
sheep-raising  districts  of  New  Mexico.  The  other  Mexican  dogs,  which  number  more  than 
a  thousand  to  one  of  these  noble  animals,  are  the  results  of  a  cross  of  everything  under  the 
sun  having  any  affinity  to  the  canine  race,  and  even  of  a  still  nobler  class  of  animals  if  Mexi- 
can stories  are  to  be  credited.  It  is  believed  in  Mexico,  that  the  countless  mongrels  of  that 
country  owe  their  origin  to  the  assistance  of  the  various  kinds  of  wolves,  mountain  cats, 
lynxes,  and  to  almost  if  not  every  class  of  four-footed  carnivorous  animals.  Be  this  as  it  may, 
those  who  have  not  seen  them  can  believe  as  much  as  they  like ;  but  eye-witnesses  can  assert, 
that  there  never  was  a  country  blessed  with  a  greater  and  more  abundant  variety  of  misera- 
rable,  snarling,  cowardly  packs,  than  the  mongrel  dogs  of  Mexico.  That  country  of  a  surety 
would  be  the  plague-spot  of  this  beautiful  world,  were  it  not  for  the  redeeming  character  ol 
the  truly  noble  shepherd  dog,  endowed  as  it  is  with  almost  human  intellect.  I  have  often 
thought,  when  observing  the  sagacity  of  this  animal,  that  if  very  many  of  the  human  race 
possessed  one  half  of  the  power  of  inductive  reasoning  which  seems  to  be  the  gift  of  this 
animal,  that  it  would  be  far  better  for  themselves  and  for  their  fellow-creatures. 

The  peculiar  education  of  these  dogs  is  one  of  the  most  important  and  interesting  steps 
pursued  by  the  shepherd.  His  method  is  to  select  from  a  multitude  of  pups  a  few  of  tho 
healthiest  and  finest-looking,  and  to  put  them  to  a  sucking  ewe,  first  depriving  her  of  her 
own  lamb.  By  force,  as  well  as  from  a  natural  desire  she  has  to  be  relieved  of  the  con- 
tents of  her  udder,  she  soon  learns  to  look  upon  the  little  interlopers  with  all  the  affection 
she  would  manifest  for  her  own  natural  offspring.  For  the  first  £  »w  days  the  pups  are  kept 
In  the  hut,  the  ewe  suckling  them  morning  and  evening  only ;  but  gradually,  as  she  be- 

•  Hungary  and  Transylvania,  by  John  Paget.  Esq.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  12,  et  supra*  f  P««e  94L 


SHEEP    HUSBANDR\     IJN    THE    SOUTH.  285 

comes  accustomed  to  their  sight,  she  is  allowed  to  run  in  a  small  enclosure  with  them  until 
she  becomes  so  perfectly  familiar  with  their  appearance  as  to  take  the  entire  charge  of 
them.  After  this  they  are  folded  with  the  whole  flock  for  a  fortnight  or  so,  they  then  run 
about  during  the  day  with  the  flock,  which  after  a  while  becomes  so  accustomed  to  them,  na 
to  be  able  to  distinguish  them  from  other  clogs — even  from  those  of  the  same  litter  which 
have  not  been  nursed  among  them.  The  shepherds  usually  allow  the  slut  to  keep  one  of 
a  litter  for  her  own  particular  benefit ;  the  balance  are  generally  destroyed. 

After  the  pups  are  weaned,  they  never  leave  the  particular  drove  among  which  they  have 
been  reared.  Not  even  the  voice  of  their  master  can  entice  them  beyond  sight  of  the  ftock; 
neither  hunger  or  thirst  can  do  it.  I  have  been  credibly  informed  of  an  instance  where  a 
single  dog  having  charge  of  a  small  flock  of  sheep,  was  allowed  to  wander  with  them  about 
the  mountains,  while  the  shepherd  returned  to  his  village  for  a  few  days,  having  perfect 
confidence  in  the  ability  of  his  dog  to  look  after  the  flock  during  his  absence,  but  with  a 
Rtrange  want  of  foresight  as  to  the  provision  of  the  dog  for  his  food.  Upon  his  return  to  tho 
flock^he  found  it  several  miles  from  where  left,  but  on  the  road  leading  to  the  village,  and 
the  poor  faithful  animal  in  the  agonies  of  death,  dying  of  starvation,  even  in  the  midst  oj 
plenty ;  yet  the  flock  had  not  been  harmed  by  him.  A  reciprocal  affection  exists  between 
them  which  may  put  to  blush  many  of  the  human  family.  The  poor  dog  recognized 
them  only  as  brothers  and  dearly  loved  friends ;  he  was  ready  at  all  times  to  lay  down 
his  life  for  them ;  to  attack  not  only  wolves  and  mountain  cats,  with  the  confidence  of  vic- 
tory, but  even  the  bear,  when  there  could  be  no  hope.  Of  late  years,  when  the  shepherds 
of  New  Mexico  have  suffered  so  much  from  Indian  marauders,  instances  have  frequently 
occurred  where  the  dog  has  not  hesitated  to  attack  his  human  foes,  and  although  transfix- 
ed with  arrows,  his  indomitable  courage  and  faithfulness  have  been  such  as  to  compel  his 
assailants  to  pin  him  to  the  earth  with  spears,  and  hold  him  there  until  dispatched  with 
stones. 

In  the  above  instance  the  starving  dog  could  have  helped  himself  to  one  of  his  little  bro- 
ther lambs,  or  could  have  deserted  the  sheep,  and  very  soon  have  reached  the  settlements 
where  there  was  food  for  him.  But  faithful  even  unto  death,  he  would  neither  leave  nor 
molest  them,  but  followed  the  promptings  of  his  instinct  to  lead  into  the  settlement;  their 
unconsciousness  of  his  wants  and  slow  motions  in  traveling  were  too  much  for  his  exhaust- 
ing strength. 

These  shepherds  are  very  nomadic  in  character.  They  are  constantly  moving  about 
their  camp  equipage  consisting  merely  of  a  kettle  and  a  bag  of  meal ;  their  lodges  are  made 
in  a  few  minutes,  of  branches,  &c.,  thrown  against  cross-sticks.  They  very  seldom  go  out 
in  the  day-time  with  their  flocks,  intrusting  them  entirely^with  their  dogs,  which  faithfully 
return  them  at  night,  never  permitting  any  stragglers  behind  or  lost.  Sometimes  different 
flocks  are  brought  into  the  same  neighborhood  owing  to  scarcity  of  grass,  when  the  wonder- 
ful instincts  of  the  shepherds'  dogs  are  most  beautifully  displayed  ;  and  to  my  astonishment, 
who  have  been  an  eye-witness  of  such  scenes,  if  two  flocks  approach  'within  a  few  yards  of 


kindly 

happens,  if  many  make  a  rush  and  succeed  in  joining  the  other  flock,  the  dogs  under  whose 
charge  they  are,  go  over  and  bring  them  all  out,  but,  strange  to  say,  under  such  circumstances 
they  are  never  opposed  by  the  other  do<*s.  They  approach  the  strange  sheep  only  to  prevent 
their  own  from  leaving  the  flock,  though  they  offer  no  assistance  in  expelling  the  other  sheep 
But  they  never  permit  sheep  not  under  canine  protection,  nor  dogs  not  in  charge  of  sheep, 
to  approach  them.  Even  the  same  dogs  which  are  so  freely  permitted  to  enteiM.heir  flocks 
in  search  of  their  own,  are  driven  away  with  ignominy  if  they  presume  to  approach  them 
without  that  laudable  object  in  view. 

Many  anecdotes  could  be  related  of  the  wonderful  instinct  of  these  dogs.  I  very  much 
doubt  if  there  are  shepherd  dogs  in  any  other  part  of  the  world  except  Spain,  equal  to  those 
of  New-Mexico  in  value.  The  famed  Scotch  and  English  dogs  sink  into  insignificance  by 
the  side  of  them.  Their  superiority  may  be  owing  to  the  peculiar  mode  of  rearing  them, 
but  they  are  certainly  very  noble  animals,  naturally  of  large  size,  and  highly  deserving  to  be 
introduced  into  the  United  States.  A  pair  of  them  will  easily  kill  a  wolf,  and  flocks  under 
their  care  need  not  fear  any  common  enemy  to  be  found  in  our  country. 

J.  H.  LYMAN." 

Mr.  Kendall*  speaks  of  meeting,  on  the  Grand  Prairie, 

—a  flock  numbering  seventeen  thousand,  which  immense  herd  was  guarded  by  a  very  few 
men,  assisted  by  a  large  number  of  noble  dogs,  which  appeared  gifted  with  the  faculty  of 
keeping  them  together.  There  was  no  running  about,  no  bai'king  or  biting  in  their  system 
of  tactics ;  or  the  contrary,  they  were  continually  walking  up  and  down,  like  faithful  senti 
nels,  on  the  outer  side  of  the  flock,  and  should  any  sheep  chance  to  stray  from  its  fellows, 
the  dog  on  duty  at  that  particular  post,  would  walk  gently  up,  take  him  carefully  by  the  ear 

*  Vcl  I.,  p.  268. 


286  SHEEP    HUSBANDRY    IN   THE    SOUTH. 

and  lead  him  back  to  the  flock.     Not  the  .east  fear  did  the  sheep  manifest  a*  the  approach 
:»f  these  dogs,  and  there  was  no  occasion  for  it. 

These  noble  animals  seem,  according  to  these  and  various  otjier  corre- 
sponding accounts  I  have  seen  of  them,  to  leave  nothing  to  desire  in  the  wcy 
of  a  sheep-dog,  either  for  guarding  or  managing  flocks.  They  would  be  in- 
valuable in  our  Southern  States,  to  protect  the  flocks  from  the  cur-dogs 
which  so  often  attack  them,  and  from  the  occasional  wolves.  I  hope 
efforts  will  be  made  to  introduce  them  into  our  country,  and  then  they 
should  be  bred  in  the  utmost  purity. 

SOUTH  AMERICAN  SHEEP-DOG. — Similar  to  the  preceding  in  character 
and  habits,  are  the  sheep-dogs  to  be  found  in  various  parts  of  South  Amer- 
ica. They,  too,  are  undoubtedly  an  offshoot  from  the  Spanish  stem. 
The  following  interesting  account  of  them  is  from  Darwin's  Journal : 

."  While  staying  at  this  estancia  (in  Banda  Oriental),  I  was  amused  with 'what  I  saw  and 
heard  of  the  shepherd  dogs  of  the  country.  When  riding,  it  is  a  common  thing  to  meet  a 
large  flock  of  sheep  guarded  by  one  or  two  dogs,  at  the  distance  of  sdme  miles  from  any 
house  or  man.  I  often  wondered  how  so  firm  a  friendship  had  been  established.  The 
method  of  education  consists  in  separating  the  puppy,  when  very  young,  from  the  bitch, 
and  in  accustoming  it  to  its  future  companions.  A  ewe  is  held  three  or  four  times  a  day 
for  the  little  thing  to  suck,  and  a  nest  of  wool  ig  made  for  it  in  the  sheep-pen. — At  no  time 
is  it  allowed  to  associate  with  other  dogs,  or  with  the  children  of  the  family.  The  puppy, 
moreover,  is  generally  castrated  ;  so  that  when  grown  up,  it  can  scarcely  have  any  feelinga 
in  common  with  the  rest  of  its  kind.  From  this  education  it  has  no  wish  to  leave  the  flock, 
and  just  as  another  dog  will  defend  its  master,  man,  so  will  these  the  sheep.  It  is  amusing 
to  observe,  when  approaching  a  flock,  how  the  dog  immediately  advances  barking — and  the 
sheep  all  close  in  his  rear  as  if  round  the  oldest  ram.  These  dogs  are  also  easily  taught  to 
bring  home  the  flock  at  a  certain  time  in  the  evening.  Their  most  troublesome  fault  "when 
young  is  their  desire  of  playing  with  the  sheep,  tor  in  their  play,  they  sometimes  gallop  their 
jioor  subjects  most  unmercifully.  The  shepherd  dog  comes  to  the  house  every  day  for 
some  meat,  and  immediately  it  is  given  to  him  he  skulks  away  as  if  ashamed  of  himself. 
On  these  occasions  the  house  dogs  are  very  tyrannical,  and  the  least  of  them  will  attack 
and  pursue  the  stranger.  The  minute,  however,  the  latter  has  reached  the  flock,  he  turns 
round  and  begins  to  bark,  and  then  all  the  house  dogs  take  very  quickly  to  their 
heels.  In  a  similar  manner  a  whole  pack  of  hungry  wild  dogs  will  scarcely  ever  (and  I  was 
told  by  some,  never),  venture  to  attack  a  flock  guarded  even  by  one  of  these  faithful  shepherds. 
The  whole  account  appears  to  me  a  curious  instance  of  the  pliability  of  the  affections  of  the 
dog  race  ;  and  yet,  whether  wild,  or  however  educated,  with  a  mutual  feeling  of  respect  and 
fear  for  those  that  are  fulfilling  their  instinct  of  association.  For  we  can  understand  on  no 
principle  the  wild  dogs  being  driven  away  by  the  single  one  with  its  flock,  except  that  they 
consider,  from  some  confused  notion,  that  the  one  thus  associated  gains  power,  as  if  in  com- 
pany with  its  own  kind.  F.  Cuvier  has  observed  that  all  animals  which  enter  into  domes- 
tication consider  Man  as  a  member  of  their  society,  and  thus  they  fulfil  their  instinct  of  asso- 
ciation. In  the  above  case  the  shepherd  dogs  rank  the  sheep  as  their  brethren;  and  the 
wild  dogs,  though  knowing  that  the  individual  sheep  are  not  dogs,  but  are  good  to  eat,  yet 
partly  consent  to  this  view,  when  seeing  them  in  a  flock,  with  a  shepherd  dog  at  their 
head!" 

OTHER  LARGE  RACES  OF  SHEEP-DOGS. — There  are  one  or  two  fine  species 
in  France,  as  those  of  Brie,  and  Auvergne.  In  a  letter  from  G.  W. 
Lafayette,  to  John  S.  Skinner,  Esq.,  the  latter  are  pronounced  equal  to 
the  Spanish  dogs.*  Large  powerful  races,  everywhere  possessing  the 
same  general  characteristics,  are  to  be  found  in  almost  every  country 
excepting  our  own,  where  the  fine-wooled  breeds  of  sheep  have  been  ex 
J,ensively  introduced.  With  a  commerce  extending  to  all  the  maritime 
nations  of  the  world,  singular  it  is  that  so  little  pains  have  been  taken  to 
introduce  them. 

THE  ENGLISH  SHEEP-DOG. — The  following  are  portraits  of  a  Diovei's  dog, 

*  See  Fanners'  Library,  Vol.  i.,  p.  465. 


SHEEP    HUSBANDIU     IN  THE    SOUTH. 


287 


and  a  Scotch  Colley  slut,  imported  by  B.  Gates,  of  Gap  Grove,  Lee  Co 
Illinois.     They  are  taken  from  The  Farmers*  Libiary.* 

Fig.  72. 


DROVER'S  DOG,  AND  COLLET  SLUT. 

The  Drover's  dog,  or  English  sheep-dog,  or  Butcher's  dog — for  by  an 
of  these  names  is  he  known — is  considerably  smaller  than  the  specieo  CT 
families  heretofore  described,  but  he  is  a  larger  and  more  powerful  dog 
than  the  Colley.  Mr.  Gates,  in  the  communication  accompanying  the 
portraits,  remarks : 

"  Much  has  already  been  written  on  the  intelligence  of  the  Scotch  Colley.  My  opinion  is 
that  the  English  "  Butcher's  dog"  is  no  way  lacking  on  that  point.  Any  reader  who  has 
visited  Smithfield  market  in  London,  on  Monday  or  Friday,  will,  no  doubt,  have  formed  the 
same  opinion.  There  you  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing  a  number  of  these  useful  animals 
at  their  work.  It  would,  in  fact,  be  almost  impossible  to  conduct  this  market  without  their 
aid.  There  a  vast  number  of  different  animals  are  brought  for  sale  from  all  parts  of  the 
country,  to  supply  this  great  metropolis,  and  are  collected  in  the  smallest  possible  space. 


-the  dog  always  holding  them  by 
head,  so  as  not  to  bruise  the  body.  By  a  Word  or  motion  of  the  hand,  they  will  run  over 
the  backs  of  the  sheep,  to  stop  them  or  turn  them  in  a  different  direction.  I  have  often 
admired,  with  astonishment,  their  quick  and  intelligent  actions.  They  appear  to  read  the 
thoughts  of  their  master  by  his  countenance,  for  their  eye  is  continually  on  his,  or  the  flock. 
Nothing  else  can  attract  his  attention  when  he  has  work  to  perform,  and  at  times  I  have 
thought  he  acted  with  more  judgment  than  the  owner.  .  .  .  The  breed  of  "  Boxer,"  (whose 
portrait  is  above  given,)  is  sometimes  called  the  Drover's  or  Tailless  breed." 

Mr.  Colman,  in  one  of  his  Reports,  says: 

"  For  a  week  or  more  before  the  tryst,  the  roads  leading  to  Falkink  will  be  found  crowded 
with  successive  droves  of  cattle  and  sheep,  proceeding  to  this  central  point ;  and  it  is  ex 
Uemely  curious  on  the  field  to  see  with  what  skill  and  care  the  different  parties  and  herdt 
We  kept  together  by  themselves.  In  this  matter  the  shepherds  are  generally  assisted  by 

*  Vcl.  i.  p.  575. 


288 


SHEEP    HUSBANDRY   IN    THE   SOUTH. 


their  dogs,  which  appear  endowed  with  a  sagacity  almost  human,  and  almost  to  know  every 
Individual  belonging  to  their  charge.  They  are  sure,,  with  an  inflexible  pertinacity,  to  bricg 
back  a  deserter  to  the  flock." 

Mr  T.  C.  Peters,  (now  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,)  on  his  return  from  Europe,  a 
few  years  since,  brought  over  a  Drover  and  a  Colley.  His  testimony  to 
their  extraordinary  value  will  be  found  in  the  American  Agriculturist,  vol. 
iii.,  page  76. 

Fig.  73 


THE    COLLEY. 


THE  SCOTCH  SHEEP-DOG  OR  COLLEY. — The  light,  active,  sagacious  Colley 
admits  of  no  superior — scarcely  of  an  .equal — where  it  is  his  business 
merely  to. manage  his  flock,  and  not  to  defend  them  from  beasts  larger 
than  himself.  Mr.  Hogg  says  that  "  a  single  shepherd  and  his  dog  will 
accomplish  more  in  gathering  a  flock  of  sheep  from  a  Highland  farm  than 
twenty  shepherds  could  do  without  dogs.  Neither  hunger,  fatigue,  nor 
the  worst  treatment  will  drive  him  from  his  master's  side,  and  he  will 
follow  him  through  every  hardship  without  murmur  or  repining." 

The  same  well-known  writer,  in  a  letter  in  Blackwood's  Magazine,  gives 
a  most  glowing  description  of  the  qualities  of  his  Colley,  "  Sirrah."  One 
night  a  flock  of  lambs,  under  his  care,  frightened  at  something,  made 
what  we  call  in  America  a  regular  stampede,  scattering  over  the  hills  in 
several  different  bodies,  .  "  Sirrah, "  exclaimed  Hogg  in  despair,  "  they're 
a'  awa !  "  The  dog  dashed  off  through  the  darkness.  After  spending 
with  his  assistants,  the  whole  night  in  a  fruitless  search  after  the  fugitives, 
Mr.  Hogg  commenced  his  return  to  his  master's  house.  Coming  to  a 
deep  ravine,  they  found  Sirrah  in  charge,  as  they  at  first  supposed,  of  one 
of  the  scattered  divisions,  but  what  was  their  joyful  surprise  to  find  that 
not  a  lamb  of  the  whole  flock  was  missing ! 

Of  the  stanch  devotedness  of   the  Colley,  under  any  and  all  circuni 


SHEEP   HUSBANDRY   IN    THE    SOUTH.  f  289 

stances,  Mr.  Peters  gives,    in  the  American  Agriculturist,  the  following 
characteristic  illustration,  copied  from  a  Scotch  paper: 

"  The  master  of  the  bitch  purchased  at  a  fair  some  eighty  sheep,  and  having  occasion  to 
tay  a  day  longer,  sent  them  forward  and  directed  his  faithful  Colley  to  drive  them  home,  a, 
distance  of  about  17  miles.  The  poor  bitch,  when  a  few  miles  on  the  road,  dropped  two 
whelps;  but  faithful  to  her  charge,  she  drove  the  sheep  on  a  mile  or  two  farther  —  then 
allowing  them  to  stop,  she  returned  for  her  pups,  which  she  carried  some  two  miles  in 
advance  of  the  sheep,  and  thus  she  continued  to  do,  alternately  carrying  her  own  young  ones, 
and  taking  charge  of  the  flock,  till  she  reached  home.  The  manner  of  her  acting  on  this 
occasion  was  gathered  by  the  shepherd  from  various  persons  who  had  observed  her  on  the 
roud.  " 

The  Colleyo  aie  not  no\r  uncommon  in  the  Northern  States,  and  I  have 
often  seen  proofs  of  their  singular  sagacity  in  collecting,  driving,  and 
gliding  sheep,  and  in  catching  out  one  from  the  flock  when  directed  by 
their  masteis.  I  have  often  seen  one  drive  a  flock  of  fifty  or  sixty  sheep 
through  a  crowed  street,  encountering  teams,  pedestrians,  and  other  dogs 
at  every  r»tep  —  without  the  slightest  assistance. 


THE  GHEE?  TO  THE  DOG.  —  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  a 
trained  sheep-dog  will  manage  any  strange  flock,  however  wild  and  unac- 
customed to  such  company.  The  sheep  must  be  gradually  made  acquainted 
with,  and  accustomed  to  the  dog.  They  must  know  —  and  they  will 
readily  learn  it  —  that  he  is  their  friend,  their  guardian  and  protector, 
instead  of  that  hereditary  enemy  which  their  instinct  teaches  them  to  fly 
from.  A  vy.int  of  knowledge  of  this  fact  has  frequently  led  to  disappoint- 
ment and  disgust,  to  a  giving  up  of  the  valuable  dog  which  it  has  cost 
pains  and  money  to  procure.  Mr.  Skinner  relates  a  ludicrous  incident  of 
Mr.  Jefferson,  arising  from  his  not  being  apprized  of  this  fact.  A  thoroughly 
broken  sheep-dog  had  been  sent  him  from  abroad,  and  the  great  Sage  of 
Monticello,  after  having  held  forth  ore  rotundo  to  some  visitors,  on  the 
value  of  these  dogs,  and  their  immense  convenience  —  nay,  their  indispens- 
ability  in  managing  flocks,  led  forth  his  guests  to  give  a  practical  exempli- 
fication of  the  qualities  of  his  dog.  At  the  word,  the  latter  made  for  the 
sheep.  The  terrified  animals  fled  in  all  directions,  some  of  them  dashing 
themselves  over  precipices  and  breaking  their  necks.  The  dog  either 
shared  the  same  fate,  or,  mortified  at  his  failure,  felt  his  pride  too  deeply 
wounded  to  return.  Mr.  Jefferson  never  recovered  him  ! 


WOOL  DEPOTS. 

Commission  merchants  who  confine  their  operations  exclusively  to  th* 
sale  of  Wool,  have  opened  large  stores  or  "  Depots,"  at  three  or  four  points 
in  the  Northern  States.  Of  the  origin  of  this  system,  Mr.  H.  Blanchard, 
of  Kinderhook,  N.  Y.,  thus  spoke  at  the  Agricultural  meeting  at  the 
Assembly  Chamber,  Albany,  Feb.  3,  1848  : 

"  From*  facts  that  were  ascertained  by  Hon.  J.  P.  Beekman,  (then  President  of  the  N.  \ 
State  Agricultural  Society,)  at  the  State  Fair  held  in  Poughkeepsie,  in  1844,  he  became  con 
vinced  that  the  growers  of  Dutchess  county,  by  reason  of  the  superior  facilities  afforded 
them  for  the  sale  of  their  fine  wools,  were  procuring  from  six  to  eight  cents  per  pound  more 
than  many  wool-growers  in  other  sections  of  the  State  who  produced  the  same  quality  of 
wool.  The  large  quantity  of  fine  wool  grown  in  that  county,  offered  great  inducements  foi 
manufacturers  ana  purchasers  of  fine  wool  to  make  that  a  place  of  resort  to  obtain  their  sup 
plies,  and  thus  a  fair  competition  was  awakened,  which  resulted  in  a  just  appreciation  of  the 
relative  value  of  their  wools,  and  remunerating  prices  to  the  fine  wool  grower.  Soon  after 
Or.  B.'s  return,  the  evils  consequent  upon  the  system  of  selling  wools  in  our  county,  as  weL 
es  elsewhere,  became  a  matter  of  discussion  between  him  and  other  wool-growers  in  our 
•":cinity  and  myself,  the  result  of  which  was  a  request  from  them  that  I  would  open  what 
we  now  term  a  "  Wool  Depot."  The  principles  involved  in  the  depot  system  are  not  new 
u  oeing  conducted  upon  those  of  a  commission  business ;  but  it  is  only  the  details  and  annli 

2O 


290  SHEEP   HUSBANDRY   TN  THE    SOUTH. 

cation  of  these  principles  to  wool  when  received  direct  from  the  grower,  that  had  never  be- 
fore in  this  country  been  applied  in  the  same  discriminating  manner,  and  with  as  little 
expense  as  by  this  system." 

The  objects  and  advantages  of  the  system,  and  the  method  of  conduct- 
ing these  establishments  are  clearly  set  forth  in  the  following  letter  from 
my  friend  Mr.  Peters,  to  whom,  as  a  keeper  of  one  of  these  Depots,  and  & 
gentleman  of  conceded  ability — as  well  as  skill,  energy  and  su;cesa 
\n  this  and  in  his  other  business  operations — I  thought  it  appropriate  to 
apply  for  this  information. 

H.  S.  RANDALL,  Esq.  BUFFALO.  N.  Y.,  Dec.  16, 1847. 

My  Dear  Sir:  Your  kind  favor  of  the  12th  inst.,  making  inquiries  relative  to  the  Wool 
D£pot  system,  is  before  me. 

It  will  give  me  pleasure  to  answer  your  queries,  not  that  by  so  doing  I  can  add  anything 
to  the  exceeding  great  value  of  your  Letters  to  the  whole  country,  ajid  especially  to  the 
South  and  West — yet  from  my  own  experience  as  a  wool-grower,  and  in  the  management 
of  a  Wool  Depot  which  I  established  at  this  place  last  spring,  I  may  give  some  information 
that  will  be  useful  to  your  readers,  and  may  they  be  millions.  In  so  doing,  I  will  give  you 
1st,  An  account  of  the  object;  2d,  The  method  of  doing  business ;  and  3d,  The  advantages 
of  the  Wool  Depot  system. 

THE  OBJECT. — Upon  no  sheep  is  the  wool  exactly  alike  over  the  whole  body ;  nor  is  the 
wool  exactly  alike  upon  any  single  flock.  In  most  flocks  there  is  a  great  diversity — greater 
than  there  should  be  for  the  farmer's  profit.  There  is,  then,  a  variety  of  grades  of  wool  in 
every  flock,  and  in  every  section  of  the  country  where  wool  is  grown. 

Manufacturers  first  grade  the  wool ;  that  is,  sort  the  fleeces,  making  from  five  to  eight  or 
nine  different  grades.  Bach  fleece  is  then  opened,  and  stapled,  or  sorted  into  the  various 
grades  of  the  factoiy.  Some  manufactories  use  only  the  finest,  others  only  the  coarsest,  and 
others  again  use  only  one  kind  of  the  intermediate  sorts,  so  that  from'  a  single  flock,  I 
sold  this  year  wool  to  five  different  manufacturers,  no  one  wanting  or  working  the  kind  that 
the  other  wanted. 

The  object  of  the  Wool  Depot  .is  to  sort  and  arrange  the  wool,  that  the  manufacturer  can 
readily  obtain  the  particular  kind  adapted  to  his  machinery,  and  to  obtain  for  each  sort  its 
fair  market  value. 

METHOD  OF  DOING  BUSINESS. — The  system  originated  with  Mr.  H.  Blanchard,  at  Kinder- 
hook,  some  three  years  ago.  Last  year,  we  sent  our  wool  to  Mr.  Blanchard,  and  during  the 
winter  I  visited  his  establishment,  and  was  so  well  satisfied  with  the  operation  of  it,  and 
of  the  vital  importance  of  the  system  to  the  wool-growers  everywhere,  that  I  at  once  made 
arrangements  to  open  one  at  this  point.  I  accordingly  commenced  operalions  in  the  spring, 
and  have  been  successful  beyond  my  most  sanguine  expectations. 

I  have  a  competent  and  experienced  sorter,  and  when  wool  is  sent  in,  it  is  at  once  sorted 
in  the  fleece,  each  sort  weighed,  and  entered  in  a  book  under  the  name  of  the  person  send- 
ing it. 

I  have  adopted  Mr.  Blanchard's  method  of  sorting,  as  experience  has  shown  that  to  be  the 
best,  under  all  circumstances.  I  make,  then,  five  sorts,  taking  full-blooded  Merino  for  No. 
1,  and  grading  down  to  coarse  common  wool,  which  is  No.  5.  Saxony  I  grade  into  Extra, 
Prime  1,  and  Prime  2.  Then  there  is  a  kind  of  wool  which  is  admirable  for  combing,  and 
another  kind  that  is  wanted  for  De  Lairies ; — these  form  five  more  sorts,  making  thus  ten 
sorts.  But  as  there  is  such  a  difference  in  the  condition  of  wool  when  brought  into  the 
Depot,  I  usually  make  two 'sorts  of  each  number.  Thus  I  have  No.  2,  and  No.  2  A.  No.  2 
is  usually  good,  but  No.  2  A  is  of  the  same  grade,  but  is  in  bet.ver  coalition,  every  way  * 
choice  article,  but  still  not  fine  enough  to  go  into  a  higher  grade.  The  wool  is  actually 
worth  two  or  three  cents  per  Ib.  more  than  the  other  number  to  which  it  belongs,  and  but 
fc>r  making  this  distinction,  would  not  bring  its  full  value.  When  the  wool  is  properly  sorted, 
it  is  piled  up  in  a  manner  that  will  enable  the-purchaser  to  see  it  at  a  good  advantage ; — in- 
sured, an:l  held  until  the  market  requires  it.  I  make  all  my  sales  here,  and  for  cash 
When  the  sales  are  closed,  an  account  is  made  out  and  sent  to  those  who  have  sent  me  their 
wool;  usually,  an  account  is  rendered  as  fast  as  any  part  of  a  man's  wool  is  sold.  I  have 
often  been  asked,  how  I  could  tell  whether  any  man's  wool  was  sold,  unless  the  whole  of  a 
eort  was  sold  at  a  time.  It  is  very  easy.  Suppose  A.  has  100  Ibs.  of  No.  1,  and  I  have  sold 
20,000  Ibs.  out  of  40,000  Ibs. — that  being  the  whole  amount  in  the  Depot.  I  have  sold  one- 
aalf  of  each  man's  No.  1,  and  I  turn  to  A.'s  account  and  give  him  credit  for  50  Ibs.  sold,  and 
su  go  through  and  credit  each  man  with  his  proportion  of  that  number  sold. 

The  charges  are,  for  receiving,  sorting,  and  selling,  one  cent  per  Ib. ,  and  the  insurance— 
which  is  usually  about  30  cts.  on  $100,  for  three  months.  Cartage  from  the  dock  is  usually 
tlr'ee  cents  per  bale.  The  sacks  are  returned  or  sold  at  the  option  of  the  owner.  They  are 


SHEEP    HUSBANDRY    IN    THE    SOUTH.  291 


worth  about  fifty  cents,  more  or  less,  according  to  their  condition-  Each 
is  carefully  examined  ;  if  put  up  in  bad  order,  it  is  so  noted,  and  a  deduction  made  by 
!he  sorter,  to  make  it  as  it  should  be.  So  that  it  is  no  object  for  a  man  to  send  to  the  Depot 
wool  in  a  bad  condition. 

THE  ADVANTAGES.  —  The  foregoing  facts  would  seem  to  be  so  plain  that  it  cannot  be 
necessary  to  refer  to  the  advantages.  No  man,  however,  is  more  at  the  mercy  of  the  specu- 
lator, than  the  wool-grower.  The  very  fact  that  he  has  so  many  kinds  of  wool  in  his  clip, 
prevents  him  from  ascertaining  the  market  value  of  the  whole,  for  being  in  comparatively 
small  quantities,  he  has  not  enough,  if  ever  so  well  sorted,  to  make  it  an  object  for  the  differ- 
ent manufacturers  to  visit  him.  He  is  therefore  compelled  to  sell  his  whole  clip  at  the 
price  of  his  present  quality,  and  at  prices  from  five  to  fifteen  cents  per  Ib.  under  the  real 
market  value  of  his  wool.  Allow  me  to  illustrate  by  an  example.  A  farmer  has  his  wheat, 
corn,  oats,  and  barley,  all  mixed,  and  carries  it  to  market  in  this  condition.  Will  anybody 
give  him  the  value  of  each  kind  of  grain?  On  the  contrary,  they_  would  not  be  willing  to 
pay  even  the  value  of  the  cheapest  kind.  And  yet  each  kind  by  itself  has  a  market  value/ 
Precisely  in  the  same  situation  is  the  wool-grower,  except  that  he  has  no  means  of  knowing 
the  value  of  the  various  sorts  of  wool,  except  from  the  speculator. 

The  advantage  of  the  Depot  system,  then,  is,  that  there  his  wool  is  properly  sorted.  The 
wheat  is  separated  from  the  corn,  the  corn  from  the  oats,  and  the  oats  from  the  barley,  and 
each  is-  made  to  bring  its  fair  mai-ket  value.  By  having  an  extensive  correspondence  among 
the  manufacturers  throughout  the  country,  I  am  kept  constantly  advised  of  the  market  ;  and 
knowing  the  price  of  cloth  in  the  cities,  I  am  enabled  to  know  to  a  certainty  what  the  price 
of  the  various  grades  of  wool  should  be. 

When  th«  manufacturer  can  get  the  kind  of  wool  he  wants,  and  in  large  quantities,  he  is 
willing  to  pay,  and  does  pay  a  better  price  than  when  he  has  to  buy  that  which  he  does  not 
want,  to  get  the  right  sort.  It  also  equalizes  the  market,  and  brings  the  producer  and  the 
manufacturer  together,  without  being  compelled  to  pay  agents  or  speculators,  and  prevents 
that  fluctuation  of  the  market  which  is  always  produced  by  speculation. 

But  there  is  another  very  great  advantage  growing  out  of  the  system.  It  enables  the  wool- 
growers  in  the  various  sections  of  the  country  to  compare  wool,  and  to  know  who  has  really 
the  best  and  most  profitable  kinds  of  sheep.  It  has  been  strikingly  manifest  with  me  thir 
season.  For  I  have  been  enabled  to  point  out  to  people  in  different  States  West,  where 
they  could  find  the  most  profitable  sheep,  by  the  wool  which  had  been  sent  me.  And  in- 
one  instance  men  had  been  over  five  hundred  miles  after  sh'eep,  and  paid  high  prices,  when 
there  were  sheep  in  their  own  town  worth  double  the  money. 

There  is  no  difficulty  in  sending  wool  here  from  any  part  of  the  country  bordering  upon 
the  Ohio,  or  its  tributaiies.  The  expense  of  transportation  will  range  from  one  to  one  and 
a  half  cents  per  Ib.  —  depending  much  upon  the  bargain  made  with  the  clipper.  I  have  re- 
ceived wool  this  year  from  all  the  Western  States,  in  some  instances  as  far  West  as  the  Mis* 
sissippi  River,  and  the  average  cost  for  freight  has  been  about  one  cent  per  Ib. 

It  was  urged  by  many  last  spring  that  this  city  was  not  a  good  point,  inasmuch  as  it  wa». 
not  sufficiently  central  in  its  location.  For  nothing  is  more  certain,  than  that  a  wool  Depot,, 
to  be  successful,  must  be  so  located  as  to  command  a  large  amount  of  wool.  The  larger 
amount  you  can  concentrate  at  a  point,  the  more  rapid  and  sure  will  be  your  sales.  To  this 
city  the  products  of  the  West  naturally  tend,  and  to  this  point  the  producer  can  calculate  with 
great  certainty  when,  and  at  what  expense  it  will  arrive.  But  after  its  trans-shipment  here, 
expenses  accumulate,  without  any  corresponding  benefit.  And  it  is  peculiarly  so,  in  regard 
to  wool,  coming  as  it  often  does  in  bad  order,  sacks  torn,  broken,  and  wet. 

But  I  have  made  my  letter  already  longer  than  I  intended,  and  in  speaking  of  my  own. 
Depot  have  perhaps  gone  more  into  detail  than  is  necessary. 

This  much  I  must  be  permitted  to  say  to  every  wool-grower,  that  the  Wool  Depot  system,, 
properly  conducted  and  patronized,  is  indispensable  to  ultimate  and  profitable  success. 

I  remain,  my  dear  sir, 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

T.  C.  PETERS 

* 

Messrs.  Perkins  and  Brown  have  a  Depot  at  Springfield,  Mass.  ;  and' 
I  believe  the  establishment  of  two  or  three  others  is  in  contemplation,  by 
companies  or  individuals. 

Conducted  with  skill  and  fidelity,  there  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  these 
establishments  are  alike  beneficial  to  the  wool-grower  and  manufacturer, 
That  Mr.  Blanchard's  and  Mr.  Peters's  have  thus  far  been  so  conducted,  there 
is  not  the  least  doubt.  Of  the  other  I  know  nothing,  though  report  speaks 
well  of  it.  The  design  was  not  regarded  with  much  favor,  in  the  out 
set,  by  many  of  our  most  extensive  wool-growers.  They  preferred  to  "  dr 


29%;  SHEEP    HUSBANDRY    IN    THE    SOUTH. 

theifcown  business,"  and  not  "pay  the  wages  of  an  intermediate  agent.' 
But  the  advantages  derived  from  selling  the  wool  in  sorted  lots,  have  been 
found  to  far  more  than  overbalance  the  one  cent  per  pound  paid  to  the 
"  agent"  or  Depot  keeper,  and  the  system  is  rapidly  gaining  favor.  Many 
of  our  most  experienced  wool  growers  in  this  State — men  the  most  com- 
petent to  favorably  dispose  of  their  wool — have  sent  their  wool  to  Messrs. 
Blanchard  and  Peters,  and  I  have  yet  to  see  or  hear  of  the  first  person 
who  has  been  disappointed  in  the  result. 

If  wool  Depots  are  beneficial  in  the  North,  where  the  agents  of  different 
manufacturers,  and  "  speculators,"  visit  every  man's  barn  to  bid  on  his 
wool — and  among  a  class  of  growers,  too,  who,  from  long  experience,  are 
familiar  with  the  qualities  and  comparative  values  of  the  staple — how 
much  more  beneficial  would  they  be  to  regions  in  which  the  growers  are 
so  scattered  that  they  are  rarely  visited  by  traveling  agents — or  if  so,  not 
in  numbers  sufficient  to  produce  that  competition  which  would  compel  them 
to  offer  the  fair  market  value  of  the  article  :  and  where,  perhaps,  in  many 
cases,  the  growers  themselves  have  not  sufficient  experience  to  determine 
the  exact  grade  of  their  own  clips,  even  supposing  them  correctly  notified 
from  time  to  time  from  abroad,  of  the  market  value  of  the  several  grades 
The  Depot  system,  in  my  judgment,  removes  the  great  and  only  serious  obsta- 
cle to  successful  wool-growing  in  the  Souths 

It  is  not  necessary  that  Depots  be  established  in  the  Southern  States,  tc 
have  those  States  reap  the  full  benefit  of  the  system.  For  the  present,  and 
for  some  time  to  come,  at  least,  the  North  will  furnish  the  best  home  mar- 
ket for  fine  wools.  The  wool  therefore  must,  until  some  changes  take 
place,  come  to  the  North  before  it  is  sold ;  and  the  transportation  must  be 
equally  subtracted  from  the  avails,  whether  the  sale  is  effected  at  home  or 
at  a  Northern  wool  Depot.  Indeed,  it  would  be  better  to  store  it  in  a  De- 
pot at  Kinderhook  or  Buffalo,  than  at  Charleston  or  Nashville.  And 
this  is  for  the  reason  that  the  two  former  are  much  nearer  to,  and  can  be 
more  speedily  visited  by  the  principal  woolen  manufacturers  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  than  the  latter.  The  New- York -or  New-England  manufac- 
turer would  be  little  likely  to  send  an  agent  to  Charleston  or  Nashville,  if 
he  could  supply  his  wants  equally  cheaply  (with  the  addition  of  cost  of 
transportation),  from  Buffalo,  Kinderhook,  or  Springfield.  And  if  supplied 
any  more  cheaply  at  the  former  places  (price  of  transportation  excepted), 
be  it  remembered,  it  would  be  so  much  unnecessarily  taken  out  of  the  pocket 
of  the  grower. 

Should  the  South  at  any  future  day  find  it  more  for  her  interest  to  ship 
her  wools  to  Europe,  the  above  considerations  will  cease  to  be  valid.  She 
would  then  want  Depots  as  much  as  now,  for  far  more  gain,  proportiona- 
bly,  is  made  by  sorting  wool  for  the  foreign,  than  the  American  markets. 
But  in  that  event,  the  Depots  would  assume  a  different  character,  and 
they  would  be  most  appropriately  located  at  the  port  whence  the  wools 
were  shipped. 

A  CORRECTION.— MR.  RUFFIN. 

In  the  beginning  of  Letter  VI.,  1  made  the  following  remark  in  relation 
to  Hon.  Edmund  Ruffin — "  He  seems  to  think  lime,  of  itself,  adequate  to 
the  full  and  permanent  amelioration  of  the  tertiary  soils." — This  remark 
was  made  on  a  somewhat  too  hasty  inspection  of  some  of  Mr.  Ruflin's  po- 
sitions in  the  Agricultural  Survey  of  South  Carolina.  Since  writing  it,  I 
nave  had  the  pleasure  of  reading  for  the  first  time  Mr.  R.'s  highly  valua- 
ble work  on  Calcareous  Manures,  and  find  that  I  was  in  error  in  the  state- 
ment above  made. 


SHEEP    HUSBANDRY    IN    THE    SOUTH. 


NOTE  IN  RELATION  TO  AUSTRALIA. 


Since  the  preceding  Letters  were  completed,  the  exceedingly  interesting 
article  from  the  (English)  Farmers'  Magazine,  which  is  published  below. 
has  met  my  eye.  It  will  be  seen  from  it  that  the  conclusions  arrived  at 
by  me  (see  page  123,)  in  relation  to  the  vast  increase  in  the  trans-Atlantic 
demand  for  wool  and  woolens,  are  in  a  rapid  course  of  verification.  1 
wrote  from  statistics  extending  down  to  1840.  In  that  year  the  English 
import  of  wool  was  forty-six  millions  of  pounds.  In  1845,  according  to 
the  subjoined  authority,  it  was  seventy-six  millions  of  pounds.  And  this 
rapid  increase  took  place,  notwithstanding  the  vast  extension  in  the  woolen 
manufactures  in  other  nations,  particularly  in  Germany,  France,  Spain  and 
Belgium.  The  extract  given  from  Waterton's  "  Cyclopeedia  of  Com- 
merce," asserting  the  improbability  of  a  much  greater  extension  of  the 
English  woolen  manufactures,  "unless  new  markets  shall  be  opened,"  may 
be  true.  But  new  markets  are  yet  to  spring  up  in  Central  and  Northern 
Asia,  and  even  in  Northern  Europe,  which  will,  in  the  aggregate,  require 
an  increase  of  woolen  manufactures  which  the  boldest  calculator  now 
scarcely  dreams  of.  For  the  reasons  for  this  opinion,  see  page  123. — 
Whether  England  is  to  supply  a  greater  or  less  portion  of  this  increasing 
demand  remains  to  be  seen.  If  she  continues  as  well  prepared  as  sho 
now  is  to  compete  with  other  manufacturing  nations,  doubtless  she  will 
contribute  her  full  share  to  that  supply. 

It  will  also  be  seen,  from  the  annexed  paper,  that  what  I  predicted  (see 
page  121)  in  relation  to  the  prospective  competition  (from  the  year  1840) 
in  wool-growing,  between  the  densely  populated  countries  of  Western 
Europe  and  those  in  newer  settled  regions,  where  land  is  cheap  and  popu- 
lation comparatively  sparse,  has  already  come  to  pass.  Spain,  arid  even 
Germany,  which  in  1840  supplied  England  with  nearly  twenty-two  million 
pounds  of  wool — nearly  half  of  the  whole  import  of  the  latter — have  now 
been  driven  almost  entirely  out  of  the  English  market !  But,  says  the 
Sydney  Herald,  Germany,  Spain,  etc.,  have  renewed  the  contest  in  another 
form  :  they  have  extended  their  manufacturing  operations,  and  now  manu- 
facture their  own  wool.  Admit  this  :  but  if  German  wools  cannot  com- 
pete with  others  in  the  English  market,  which  are  brought  from  fifty  times 
the  distance,  they  cannot  compete  with  them  even  in  the  German  market, 
unless  the  latter  are  kept  out  by  duties.  The  German  manufacturer,  then, 
in  working  up  home  wools,  pays  more  for  his  raw  mateiial  than  the  Eng- 
lish manufacturer,  and  he  cannot,  therefore,  compete  with  him  in  foreign 
markets,  nor  even  in  the  home  one,  without  a  protective  Tariff  which 
would  raise  the  price  of  the  English  to  that  of  the  German  article. — 
Tariffs  materially  enhancing  the  cost  of  the  necessaries  of  life  will  not  long 
be  tolerated  by  the  consuming  millions,  in  regions  where  civilization  has 
penetrated. 

It  seems  that  Australia  and  Van  Diemen's  Land  are  the  successful  com 
petitors  which  have  driven  Germany  and  Spain  from  the  English  wool 
market.  The  views  set  forth  by  me  in  Letter  IX.  in  relation  to  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  former  for  woe  1-gro wing  compared  with  those  of  Hungary, 
Southern  Russia,  North  and  South  America,  remain  the  same  ;  indeed  a 
careful  review  of  my  positions  has  served  to  farther  convince  me  of  their 
correctness.  The  character  of  the  population,  and  the  better  commercial 
regulations  of  Australia,  have  given  her  a  present  advantage  over  new  ri- 
vals in  the  Old  World ;  and  America  has  not  yet  entered  the  field  of  com- 
petition. When  the  Anglo-Saxon  of  North  America  enters  the  lists  with 
the  Anglo-Saxon  of  Australia,  natural  advantages  will  not,  as  now,  be 


294  SHEEP    HUSBANDRY    IN   THE   SOUTif. 

overbalanced  by  superior  energy  and  enterprise.  The  Anglo-Australian 
will,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  meet  his  full  equal  in  these  particulars.  And, 
on  the  other  hand,  there  is  not  a  rational  doubt  that  the  natural  and  otlier 
present  advantages  of  all  kinds  are  on  the  side  of  the  Anglo- American.  The 
pirtion  of  North  America  included  in  the  proper  wool-gcowing  zone  is 
immensely  greater  than  in  Australia ;  our  climate,  all  things  considered- 
considering  the  occasional  terrible  drouths  of  Australia — is  the  best;  OUT 
lands  are  cheaper,  and  will  certainly  average  as  good,  including  our  whole 
Atlantic  coast,  and  including  only  our  territory  between  the  Apalachians 
and  the  Rocky  Mountains,  our  land  will  average  by  far  the  best ;  labor  is 
not  dearer  among  us  ;  we  are  not  a  quarter  as  distant  from  the  English 
markets  ;  the  wool  from  all  parts  of  our  immense  interior,  instead  of  be- 
ing dragged  long  and  expensive  journeys  in  "bullock  drays,"  is  already 
whirled  along  by  steam,  or  boated  on  canals  or  rivers  to  the  seaboard,  at 
a  comparatively  trifling  expense.  It  would  be  difficult  to  name  a  particu- 
lar, excepting  in  the  two-cent  duty,  in  which  large  portions  of  the  United 
States  have  not  the  advantage  over  Australia  for  supplying  the  English 
wool  market,  and  in  other  European  markets  we  have  perhaps  every  ad- 
vantage over  that  Colony. 

THE  AUSTRALIAN  WOOL  TRADE* — [By  Wm.  Westgarth,  Esq.] — The  importance  at 
present  assumed  by  the  Australian  wool  trade  in  the  lists  of  British  Commerce,  demands 
some  degree  of  attention  in  the  history  of  an  Australian  settlement.  I  shall,  therefore^ de- 
vote the  "present  chapter  to  a  short  account  of  this  branch  of  Commerce,  in  its  capacity  both 
of  an  export  from  the  Australian  Colonies  and  an  import  into  the  British  market. 

In  the  year  1836,  the  quantity  of  wool  exported  from  Sydney  amounted  to  3,700,000  Ibs. 
weight.  The  proportion  for  the  Port  Philip  district,  included  in  this  amount,  could  not,  at 
so  early  a  period  of  her  existence,  have  exceeded  60,000  Ibs.  weight.  Five  years  afterwai'd 
the  annual  produce  had  attained  to  1,578,000  Ibs. ;  and  the  lapse  of  a  similar  period,  bring- 
ing us  down  to  the  year  1846,  exhibits  the  astonishing  quantity  of  7,400,000  Ibs.t  During 
this  interval  of  ten  years  the  quantity  of  wool  exported  from  Sydney,  exclusive  of  any  from 
Australia  Felix,  had  increased  from  three  and  a  half  millions  to  nearly  twelve  millions  of 
pounds  weight. 

The  importation  of  wool  into  the  British  market  appears,  indeed — like  the  rise  of  the  Aus- 
tralian Colonies — to  be  but  a  business'  of  yesterday,  and  one,  among  numerous  other  in- 
stances, of  the  wonderful  extension  of  Modern  Commerce.  In  1820,  the  quantity  imported 
was  under  ten  millions  of  pounds  weight;  in  1845,  it  had  risen  to  seventy-six  millions.  The 
proportion  from  the  Australian  Colonies  in  the  former  year  was  the  one-hundredth  part ;  it 
now  forms  nearly  one-half  of  the  whole  importationt ,  and  at  the  steady  and  rapid  ratio  of 
the  present  increase  of  Australian  wool,  the  lapse  of  a  few  years  will  exhibit  a  quantity  far 
greater  than  the  .united  total  of  the  wool  at  present  imported  into  Britain  from  every  quar 
ter  of  the  world.  The  following  Table  exhibits  the  respective  averages,  in  round  numbers, 
for  each  period  of  five  years  from  1826  to  1845 ;  the  numbers  representing  millions  of 
pounds  weight : 

Average  of  years.  Foreign  Wool.         Colonial  Wool.  Total 

1826-30 25  2  27 

1831-35 34  4  33 

1836-40 44  10 

1841-45 36  22  58 

1846       34  30  64 

This  Table  illustrates  the  extraordinary  progress  of  the  colonial  production,  three-fourth* 
of  which  are  derived  from  Australia  and  Van  Diemen's  Land. 

The  periodical  public  sales  of  colonial  wool,  which  now  occupy  so  important  a  position 
amon"  the  commercial  occurrences  of  the  British  Capital,  date  their  origin  only  so  lately  as 
the  year  1817.  The  prices  at  that  time,  and  for  some  subsequent  period,  were  only  from 
2d.  to  3d.  per  Ib. ;  and  it  was  not  until  twelve  or  fourteen  years  afterward  that  any  important 
advance  took  place  in  the  value  of  this  commodity.  The  fine  quality  of  the  Australian  wool 

*  From  n  new  work  in  the  press,  on  Port  Philip. 

tThe  wools  occasionally  sent  from  Port  Philip  by  way  of  Sydney,  and  appearing  in  the  Customs'  return* 
as  Sydney  exports,  are  here  allowed  for.  The  season  or  year  is  taken  as  ending  on  the  10th  October,  aa 
the  usual  date  of  31st  December  falls  in  the  midst  of  the  wool  shipments,  and  cannot  fairly  represent  tha 
quantities  and  ratio  of  progress  of  each  year. 

*  t  Jii  1846,  the  relative  quantities  imported  into  Britain  were,  in  round  numbers,  thirty-four  millions  o» 
pounds  of  foreign  wool  and  thirty  millions  of  colonial.  For  the  present  year  the  colonial  may  be  fiafelj 
assumed  at  some  what  more  than  half  the  importation. 


SHEEP    HUSBANDRY    IN    TH^    SOUTH.  295 

began  soon  after  to  attract  notice,  and. in  1835  and  1836  to  excite  tie  attention  even  of  foreign 
manufacturers.  From  very  small  beginnings  the  extent  of  ihe  periodical  auction  sales 
gradually  increased.  An  unprecedented  number  of  750  bales  was  announced  for  one  seriea 
of  sales  in  1825  ;  and  for  some  years  afterward  400  bales  were  considered  to  form  a  very  ex- 
tensive sale.  But  in  July,  1835,  8,746  bales  were  brought  forward,  realizing  for  the  better 
qualities  the  considerable  rates  of  from  2s.  6d.  to  3s.  8d.  per  pound  ;  and  at  the  sales  of  the 
same  month  in  1844,  there  were  exposed  no  less  than  31,358  bales.* 

The  celebrated  wools  of  Australia  are  derived  from  two  principal  breeds  of  sheep,  thd 
Merino  and  the  Saxon.  The  former  is  the  finest  in  quality,  but  it  may  be  doubted  if  an 
adequate  price  has  been  hitherto  derived  to  compensate  for  the  lighter  weight  of  the  fleece. 
In  the  Sydney  district,  attention  was  chiefly  bestowed  on  the  Merino ;  in  Van  Diemen's 
Land,  on  the  Saxon ;  and  the  Port  Philip  district  received  a  share  of  both,  as  the  colonists 
from  either  locality  transported  their  flocks  to  her  pastures.  This  mixture  of  breeds  wan 
still  farther  increased  by  Dccasional  crosses  with  the  Leicester  and  South-Down.  In  fact, 
from  the  numbers  of  inexperienced  persons  who  entered  on  the  occupation  of  sheep  farming 
in  this  new  settlement,  and,  without  any  fixed  principles,  carried  on  a  mere  random  system 
of  breeding,  the  greater  portion  of  the  wool  consists  of  every  shade  of  quality  that  natural 
accidents  could  produce.  The  abundant  pasturage  of  Port  Philip  appears  also  to  affect  the 
pure  Merino  wool  of  the  Sydney  district,  which  in  the  former  locality  acquires  a  more  open 
appearance,  loses  somewhat  of  its  fineness,  and  increases  about  a  quarter  or  half  a  pound  in 
the  weight  of  the  fleece.  The  average  weight  of  the  good  qualities  of  Port  Philip  fleeces, 
after  washing,  is  from  2£  to  2|  Ibs. ;  of  the  Sydney  fleeces  about  2£  Ibs.  There  has  been 
for  several  years  a  desire  to  introduce  a  greater  uniformity  of  quality  in  the  fleeces  of  each 
particular  grower,  and  on  the  whole  an  inclination  to  adhere  to  the  production  of  the  finer 
qualities  of  wool. 

[  Here  follow  details  of  the  Australian  method  of  washing  and  other  preparations  for  shearing,  which  are' 
omitted,  as  they  conform  in  every  important  particular  to  the  directions  laid  down  in  these  Letters  for 
those  processes.] 

The  wool  is  now  ready  to  be  packed  and  dispatched  to  the  port  of  shipment.  Each  fleece 
is  cleared  of  the  locks  and  clippings  or  other  unseemly  portions,  and  is  usually  tied  with  a 
piece  of  string,  and  tightly  squeezed  into  bags  containing  about  one  hundred  each,  or  from  two 
hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  pounds  weight.  The  ponderous  bullock  dray  is  now  yoked 
to  its  team  of  eight  or  a  dozen  oxen,  and  charged  with  an  ample  load  of  the  golden  fleece,  is 
dispatched  from  the  station  on  its  annual  and  protracted  mission  to  the  port  of  shipment. 

The  wool  on  its  arrival  in  town  is  now  generally  classed  and  re-packed  at,  an  establishment 
for  that  purpose,  unless  this  process  has  already  been  competently  performed  at  the  station.— 
The  classification  distinguishes  only  the  entire  fleece ;  it  is  not  attempted  to  proceed  to  a 
minuter  distinction  of  qualities  by  breaking  the  fleeces.  When  intended  for  sale,  the  wool, 
on  its  arrival  in  town,  is  conveniently  exhibited  in  the  various  bins  of  the  sorting  establish 
ment,  and  its  quality  and  condition  are  fairly  ascertained.  At  the  establishment  of  the  Messrs. 
Bake  well,  in  Melbourne,  the  wool  is  assorted  first  into  the  two  leading  divisions  of  clothing 
and  combing,  and  each  of  these  descriptions  is  run  out  into  five  qualities,  the  fifth  or  lowest 
being  the  coarse  Leicester  breeds.  Extra  fine  lots-  are  classed  by  themselves ;  ««/?er-greasy, 
or  kempy,  or  other  defective  fleeces,  are  also  classed  apart.  The  charge  for  sorting  is  j.I.  per 
pound.  The  usual  charge  for  hand-washing  is  Id.  per  pflund  on  the  weight  returned,  and  for 
scouring  Id.  to  l^d.  per  pound.  The  system  of  re-packing  is  also  of  use  in  exposing  any  wet 
or  damp  that  the  wool  may  have  acquired  on  the  way  from  the  interior,  in  which  condition  it 
is  in  danger  of  heating  and  even  of  originating  fire  in  the  hold  of  a  vessel  during  a  lengthened 
voyage. 

The  shipping  season  for  the  Australian  staple  commences  toward  the  end  of  October  ;  but 
only  a  few  solitary  drays  have  succeeded  in  reaching  town  during  that  month.  Considera- 
ble quantities  have  arrived  by  the  end  of  November ;  and  during  the  two  succeeding  months 
there  is  a  continuous  succession  of  vehicles  pouring  with  their  voluminous  loads  into  the  various 
ports  of  the  district.t  These  arrivals  begin  to  fall  oft'  in  February ;  but  during  that  and  the 
two  succeeding  months  considerable  quantities  continue  to  be  shipped,  including  the  later  short* 
fleeces  of  the  young  lambs.  The  shipment  of  other  exports,  which  are  comparatively  of  un- 
important amount,  terminates  with  that  of  the  wool.  A  solitary  vessel  may  linger  till  July  or 
August,  when  the  transactions  of  the  season  are  finally  closed. 

The  following  from  a  late  number  of  the  Sydney  Herald  may  be  well  appended  to  the 
above : 

*  This  included  a  small  quantity  of  foreign  wool.  The  proportion  from  Australia  and  Van  Diemen'a 
Lurxl  on  this  occasion  was  26,134  bales.  The  early  sales  were  held  at  Garraway's,  and  continued  ther» 
from  1817  to  1843.  when  the  locality  was  transferred  to  the  Kail  of  Commerce,  where  they  still  continue 
The  first  bale  at  the  first  sale,  from  the  novelty  of  the  circumstance,  realized  10s.  6d.  per  pound. 

[Mark-Lune  Express,  7th,  ]  Ith,  and  21st  Oct.  7344. 

f  There  are  five  shipping  ports  in  Ausup'aa  Felix ;  miner*,  Melbourne,  or  its  port  of  W  illiamstow-j,  Gee 
lone,  Portland,  Belfast,  tad  fort  Albert,  <jr  Alberton,  In  Oipps's  Land.  The  quantity  for  the  present  year 
(1847)  may  be  estimated  at  about  26,000  bales,  of  which  five-sixths  are  shipped  at  Williaeustown  and 
Upcteftf. 


296  SHEEP   HUSBANDRY   IN   THE    SOUTH. 


'•  Our  two  time-honored  competitors  in  the  production  of  fine  wool,  Spain   and  Germany, 

V r    •     1        1 .    „  P  .1 J^__1J        rt'1_  -    „!  * J r.l  T  i       m  ,r  ' 


kets.  We  have  been  enabled  to  supply  a  good  article — in  vast  and  ever-increasing  quanti- 
ties— and  at  prices  which,  notwithstanding  the  cost  of  carriage,  have,  through  our  facilities  01 
production,  left  us  a  remunerating  profit,  but  which  our  ancient  rivals  have  found  to  be  i»- 
sufficient  to  replace  prime  cost. 

"  But  although  Spain  and  Germany  have  ceased  to  vie  with  us  as  sellers  of  the  raw  mato 
rial  in  England,  they  have  done  so  only  to  renew  the  contest  in  another  form.  They  have 
enlarged  their  manufacturing  operations.  Since  they  can  no  longer  sell  their  fleece  at  a  profit, 
they  have  resolved  on  working  it  up  in  their  own  looms.  To  that  extent,  therefore,  they  will 
cease  to  import  wrought  woolen  fabrics ;  and  in  so  far  as  their  imports  were  from  Great 
Britain,  there  will  be  a  corresponding  decrease  in  the  British  consumption  of  our  wools.  Tho 
woolen  cloths  imported  into  those  two  countries  from  Great  Britain,  in  the  year  1841,  amounted, 
in  declared  value,  to  £1,026.481  sterling ;  and  if  we  add  the  quantities  imported  in  the  samo 
year  into  Holland  and  Belgium,  the  amount  would  have  been  about  a  million  and  a  half.  We 
must  therefore  be  cautious,  as  prudent  men,  not  to  allow  our  spirits  to  be  too  much  exhilarated 
by  the  apparent  victory  we  have  gained  over  '  our  hereditary  enemies,'  seeing  that,  though 
seemingly  vanquished,  they  have  but  shifted  their  position  and  varied  their  tactics. 

"  A  judicious  writer  says,  in  1844  :  '  Of  late  years  cottons  have,  from  their  cheapness,  in  a 
great  degree  superseded  the  lower  qualities  of  cloths — a  circumstance  which,  joined  to  the 
increasing  rivalry  of  France,  Germany  and  Belgium,  renders  it  improbable,  unless  new  mar- 
kets shall  be  opened  in  China  or  elsewhere,  that  much  extension  will  in  future  be  given  tc 
•our  manufacture  of  woolen  cloths.1* 

"  While,  however,  the  Spanish  and  the  German  wool-growers  have  thus  ceased  (or  are 
expected  veiy  shortly  to  cease)  to  compete  with  us  as  exporters  to  England,  another  com 
petitor  has  sprung  up  in  a  new  and  quite  unexpected  quarter.  In  addition  to  corn,  bread- 
stuffs,  rice,  tobacco,  cotton,  sugar,  and  an  endless  catalogue  of  '  notions,'  in  which  Brother 
Jonathan  has  hitherto  prided  himself  as  a  mighty  producer,  he  has  now  taken  it  into  hia 
head  that  he  can  breed  sheep  and  export  wool  on  a  large  scale.  And  it  would  seem  that  in 
England  his  whim  has  by  no  means  been  thought  whimsical.  For,  say  certain  Liverpool 
brokers  to  him,  under  date  of  3d  September,  1846 :  '  The  arrivals  of  wool  from  the  United 
States  last  year,  for  the  first  time  to  any  extent,  made  quite  a  sensation  in  this  country,  as  it 
was  generally  considered  that  you  required  to  import  these  qualities,  and  there  was  no 
knowledge  that  your  growth  of  wool  was  of  such  importance.  We  have  seen  it  estimated 
at  sixty-Jive  million  pounds  ;t  and  from  your  vast  (and  to  us  almost  incredible)  means  of 
production,  we  believe  it  will  cause  a  kind  of  revolution  in  the  wool  trade.' 

"  Jonathan's  own  opinion  of  the  matter  is  thus  expressed  through  the  medium  of  the  New- 
Orleans  Commercial  Times  :  '  Wool  can  be  grown  as  cheaply,  and  to  as  great  advantage,  in 
the  cotton-growing  States  as  in  any  part  of  the  world.  There  is  nothing  in  the  climate  to 
prevent  it.  If  it  may  be  found  desirable  to  grow  that  of  the  finest  grades,  it  can  be  done 
without  fear  of  the  animals  becoming  covered  with  hair  in  a  few  years.'  He  has  evidently 
some  misgivings,  however,  as  to  the  policy  of  his  attempting  the  finest  grades,  for  he  imme- 
diately subjoins,  '  However,  we  are  inclined  to  think  that  wool  of  a  coarser  quality  will  be 
found  most  profitable,  mutton  being  also  an  object  with  us.' 

"  If  the  United  States  already  produce  four  times  the  quantity  of  wool  that  we  do,  and  if 
there  is  a  reasonable  chance  of  their  producing  it  of  a  quality  equal  to  ours,  and  at  no  greater 
cost,  then  have  we  indeed  much  to  fear  from  their  formidable  rivalry.  The  vast  extent  of 
their  territory,  the  almost  illimitable  resources  of  their  soil  and  climate,  the  indomitable  spirit 
of  their  citizens,  combined  with  their  proximity  to  the  British  market,  will  render  their  com 
petition,  if  successful  at  all,  successful  in  no  ordinary  degree. 

"  '  Wool,'  says  another  Liverpool  correspondent,  addressing  an  American,  '  requires  in  it« 
production  great  attention  in  crossing  the  breed,  otherwise  the  quality  degenerates  verv 
quickly.  The  maintenance  of  its  fineness  depends  also  very  much  on  the  nature  of  the  pat 
turage  on  which  the  sheep  graze.  And  we  may  remark  that  your  own  samples  are  of  a  par 
ticularly  good  kind.' " 

Hero  is  a  word  of  encouragement  for  the  Americans,  with  a  word  of  caution  for  the  An» 
Iralians.  Of  the  two  requisites  for  the  production  and  preservation  of  a  superior  staple,  one. 
writable  pasturage,  s  bountifully  suppKed  to  the  Australian  grower  by  Nature,  while  the 
other  depends  upon  his  own  industry  and  skill.  In  this,  it  is  to  be  feared,  he  has  scarcely 
been  just  to  himself.  He  has  possibly  presumed  too  much  upon  the  natural  advantages  of 
the  fine  sheep-sustaining  country  in  which  his  capital  is  staked.  It  will  be  well  if  this  note 
of  waniing  from  the  land  of  Stars  and  Stripes  shall  rouse  him  to  a  more  vigilant  attention. 

[Simmonds's  Colonial  Magazine 

*  Watcrton's  Cyclopaedia  of  Commerce,  p.  672. 

f  The  quantity  of  wool  exported  from  New  South  Wales,  including  the  district  of  Port  Philip,  in  the  yeai 
1843.  was  17,5&i,7d4  Ibs. 


APPENDIX, 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

Report  on  the  Value  cf  Sheep  Husbandry.     Read  to  the  Agricultural  Society,  Pendleton, 

South  Carolina. 

'  IN  obedience  to  your  resolution,  requiring  your  committee  to  "  report  on 
Sheep  Husbandry  in  the  South,"  they  beg  leave  to  say  that  the  resolution 
would  seem  to  require  a  more  extended  examination  than  could  be  embraced 
in  a  report  of  an  ordinary  length. 

They  will  therefore  confine  themselves  to  that  part  of  the  subject  which, 
in  their  estimation,  will  best  show  the  applicability  and  value  of  sheep  hus- 
bandry to  our  neighborhood  and  section. 

Although  but  little  attention  is  given  by  any  of  us,  to  raising  sheep,  and 
by  none  to  preparing  wool  for  a  foreign  market,  yet  it  will  be  admitted,  that 
cur  native  stock  are  healthy,  growing  to  a  fair  size  and  produce  a  fair  fleece, 
from  two  to  five  pounds,  even  under  the  great  neglect  with  which  they  ara 
treated. 

There  is,  however,  one  question  necessary  to  examine,  and  that  is, 
whether  the  quality  and  quantity  of  the  fleece  deteriorate  in  our  climate.  The 
question  has  been  very  fully  examined  by  Mr.  H.  S.  Randall,  a  very  intel- 
ligent and  experienced  wool  grower  in  Cortland,  New  York.  From  his 
excellent  letters,  published  in  the  Farmers'  Library,  (the  perusal  of  which 
I  take  pleasure  in  recommending  to  the  members  of  this  society,)  I  draw  the 
following  statement : 

"  It  is  known  that  from  Spain  (north  latitude  36  to  44  degrees)  all  the, 
fine  wooled  flocks  have  sprung.  And  that  in  Saxony  (north  latitude  50  tc 
51  degrees  30  minutes)  the  Spanish  Merino  wool  has  been  improved  ir 
fineness  of  fibre  but  lessened  in  quantity.  In  New  York  (north  latitude  4% 
to  44  degrees)  the  fineness  of  the  Spanish  Merino  is  preserved  and  quantity 
increased.  In  Vermont  (north  latitude  43  to  45  degrees)  the  fineness  and 
quantity  of  the  Saxony  wool  are  preserved." 

South  of  us,  in  Madison  county,  Mississippi,  (north  latitude  32  degrees, 
41  minutes,)  the  wool  of  the  Saxony  sheep  has  been  found 'to  maintain  its 
original  fineness,  and  increased  in  quantity.  -  Recent  experiments  in  Aus- 
tralia (south  latitude  33  degrees  55  minutes)  show  that  fine  wooled  sheep 
(the  Merino)  preserve  the  quantity  and  improve  in  quality  of  fleece. 

The  exports  of  wool  from  there  in  1810  was  only 167  Ibs 

in  1833         «  ....    3,516,569    * 

"  "  in  1843         "          ....      16/228,400    " 

til  1834,  London  price  for  best  Spanish  Merino,  was  -        -        -        -        67  cts 

*  Australian  Merino,  -        .  100" 

*  English  wool, ...        48  " 

2P  aw 


298  SHEEP   HUSBANDRY   IX   SOUTH    CAKOLINA. 

In  England,  (north  latitude  50  to  56  degrees,)  from  some  cause  not  yel 
settled,  fine  wool  cannot  be  grown. 

Near  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  (south  latitude  34  minutes,)  Merino  Sheer 
do  well,  maintaining  both  quality  and  quantity  of  fleece  with  Spain. 

The  latitude  of  Pendleton  is  34  degrees  40  minutes,  but  counting  a  de- 
gree for  every  200  feet  altitude,  would  throw  us  some  twelve  degrees  farther 
north,  and  between  the  latitudes  of  Spain  and  Saxony. 

So  far  then  as  latitude  is  concerned,  experiments  have  been  made  both 
north  and  south  of  us,  which  show,  that  here,  Spanish  Merino  wooi  neither 
degenerates  in  quality  nor  quantity  of  fleece. 

It  is  also  known  that  rich  succulent  green  fooc  generally  adds  length  to 
fibre,  but  does  not  always  make  fine  wool  coarser,  at  least  between  latitude 
28  and  50  degrees  north,  nor  does  it  make  coarse  wool  finer.  Humidity 
and  dryness  of  atmosphere  seem  to  have,  as  well  as  climate,  some  influence 
on  the  fibre.  But  as  yet,  the  laws  which  govern  the  fleece  have  not  been 
satisfactorily  ascertained.  It  is  sufficient  for  the  present  inquiry  that  experi- 
ments verify  the  operation,  that  in  this  latitude  Merino  wool  will  not  become 
coarser,  nor  the  coarse  long  wool  become  finer,  if  each  stock  be  kept  pure; 
And  as  tjie  climate  is  well  adapted  to  both,  the  choice  of  stocks  may  very 
well  be  left  to  the  fancy  of  those  who  try  either. 

We*  come  now  to  test  the  value  of  sheep  husbandry  to  this  section  of 
country.  There  are  many  methods  by  which  this  can  be  done.  I  shall, 
however,  take  the  simple  one  of  comparing  the  profits  of  this  with  the  other 
pursuits  of  the  country. 

It  is  acknowledged  in  the  Northern  States  that  growing  wool  is  a  good 
business  there,  and  I  will  first  give  a  table  from  Mr.  Randall's  letter,  snow- 
ing the  profits  of  growing  wool  in  New  York  : 

A.  buys  100  ewes  at  $2, $20000 

"          33 1  acres  of  land  at  $20,             -         -         -         -         -         -         -  COG  66 

Cutting  and  curing  11  acres  of  the  above  for  hay,        -        -        -        -  13  65 

Pay  for  shearing, 4  00 

For  salt,  tar,  and  summer  care,     -------- 

For  labor  of  winter  feeding, 5  00 

Loss  by  death  2  per  cent,  above  pulled  wool  from  those  that  die,        -  4  00 

§837  31 

HECEIPTS. 

300  Ibs.  wool  at  394, $11871 

80  lambs  at  $1,          ...  80  00 

Summer  manure  equal  to  winter  care,          ....  5  00 

$203  71 

This  is  equal  to  24  per  cent,  on  the  amount  invested,  and  makes  the  cost 
of  the  wool  to  the  farmer  27  cents  per  pound.  A  calculation  founded*  on 
the  same  data  for  Pendleton  makes  the  result  more  favorable  : 

A.  buys  100  ewes  at  $1,      -   .     - $100  00 

Pays  for  shearing, 4  00 

For'salt,tar, 

Loss  2  per  cent,  above  skins  and  wool  of  those  that  die,  2  00 

t  make  no  charge  for  summer  pasture,  because  it  costs  nothing,  nor  should 
rye  or  barley  pastures  for  winter  be  charged;  the  crop  is  reaped  after- 
wards. But  charge  it  at  20  cents  per  head,  -  -  -  -  20  00 
One  hand's  attention  an  hour  in  the  morning  to  turn  tc  pasture,  s.nd.an  hour 
in  the  evening  to  pen ;  this  is  one-sixth  part  of  hh  time.  Say  his  whole 
time  is  worth  $72 ;  one-sixth  is -  -  -  12  00 

Total  outlay  and  expense  for  feeding  one  year,        -        •    $140  00 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY   IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA.  299 

RECEIPTS. 

2  ibs.  wool  per  head  is  200  Ibs.,  at  20  cents,  -        -        -         $40  00 

80  lambs  at  $1  when  one  year  old,     ......       80  00 

-  $120  00 

This  is  85  per  cent.  In  this  instance  the  wool  costs  the  farmer  nothing, 
Deduct  $90,  the  value  of  the  original  stock  of  ewes  at  the  commencement 
nf  the  next  year,  from  $140,  the  total  outlay,  and  you  have  $50,  which  th« 
value  of  the  lambs  more  than  equal. 

Compare  it  with  farming  or  planting  : 

A.  buys  a  negro  for      -                                                               -  $700  00 

Furnishes  him  with  fifteen  acres  of  land  at  $5,         -         -         -         -  -         75  00 

Half  the  expenses  of  a  horse  and  plough,   ------  50  00 

For  his  board  and  clothing,      -         -         -         -         -         -         -      '  -  -         20  00 

$845  00 

RECEIPTS. 

His  labor,  160  barrels  corn  at  40  cents,  -         -  '       -         -         $04  00 

5  bags  cotton  at  $30  a  bag,          .......     1  50  00 

-  §214  00 

This  is  equal  to  25  per  cent.,  certainly  as  much  as  any  man  in  thia 
neighborhood  makes.  I  have  purposely  made  this  large  estimate  that  no 
one  can  say  it  is  under  the  truth. 

B.  buys  500  ewes  and  20  bucks,  common  stock,  at  $1,           -        -        -  $520  00 

Employs  a  shepherd,       ..........  175  00 

Pays  20  cents  for  winter  feed  per  head,        .-----  104  00 

Pays  for  tar  and  salt,       ..........  20  00 

*  B  has  $  7/3  less  than  A.  in  the  oiftlay,       -        -        -        -  -        -    $819  00 

RECEIPTS. 

3  Ibs.  wool  per  head  is  1560  Ibs.  at  20  cents,  -      $312  00 

80  lambs  to  the  100  ewes  is  400  lambs  at  §1,      -        -  400  00 

-       712  00 
Dnduct  for  loss  over  skins  and  wool  of  those  that  die,  2  per  cent.,     18  40 

60 


The  outlay  of  A.  ($890)  brings  him  $210,  equal  to  25  per  cent.  The 
outlay  of  B.  ($819)  brings  him  $693  60,  equal  to  85  per  cent. 

This  calculation  will  do  for  the  neighborhood  of  Pendleton  or  lower  down, 
where  sheep  have  to  be  fed  during  the  winter.  But  for  all  that  part  of 
Pickens  and  Greenville  district,  extending  south  for  twenty-six  or  thirty 
miles  from  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  the  profits  would  be  larger.  For  in 
that  belt  of  country,  I  am  informed  by  many  residents  —  General  Garvin 
among  them  —  that  the  range  affords  sufficient  food  for  sheep  the  entire  year. 
Even  when  snow  is  on  the  ground,  they  paw  the  snow  away  and  get  sus- 
tenance from  the  winter  grass. 

For  that  section  I  would  alter  the  calculation  thus  : 

B.  buys  500  ewes  and  20  bucks,  .....       '-        -        $52000 

Pays  for  a  shepherd,        ..........       175  00 

Pays  for  salt  and  tar,  -        -        .......  20  00 

$715  00 

RECEIPTS. 

1560  Ibs.  wool  at  20  cents.    -----        $312  00 
90  lambs  to  the  100  ewes  is  450  at  $1,    -        -        -      450  00 

-       762  00 

Deduct  for  loss  2  per  cent,  over  skins  and  wool  of  those  that  di>,      3  fJ  00 
Making  $28  more  than  100  per  cent  -  $743  °0 


300  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY   IN  SOUTH   CAROLINA. 

But  try  it  on  a  scale  that  every  one  ca/i  compare  with  his  own  expo* 
rience, 

B.  buys  3  ewes  and  1  buck  for  $4  OC 

He  shears  12  Ibs.  of  wool  at  20  cents, 2  40. 

2  lambs  at  $1,  -        -        - '2  00 

Over  100  per  cent.  4  40 

These  are  suppositions.  Take  what  has  actually  occurred  in  Pickens 
district.  Mr.  Striblirig,  as  I  am  informed  by  himself,  bought  one  ewe 
for  $1 : 

In  1846  she  had  3  lambs, $3  00 

Sheared  2  Ibs.  wool  at  20  cents, 40 

$3  40 

In  1847,  same  ewe  had  2  lambs,       -        -        -        --        -  2  00 

Sheared  again  2  Ibs.  wool  at  20  cents.           .....  40 

Each  one  of  the  last  year's  lambs  had  a  lamb  apiece,        -         -  3  00 

And  sheared  from  the  3,  6  Ibs.  wool  at  20  cents,           -         -  1  20 


This  is  an  increase  of  eight  in  two  years  from  one  ewe,  and  Mr.  Stribling 
says  at  this  time  the  whole  are  alive.  I  admit  this  is  an  extraordinary  case, 
and  it  is  only  mentioned  to  show  there  are  cases  of  actual  increase  far 
above  any  of  those  calculations  made  above. 

If,  then,  the  climate  be  not  only  adapted  to  fine  wool,  but  also  10  the 
coarse  —  if  the  range,  which  is  abundant  and  sufficient  to  feed  a  flock  tne 
entire  year;  and  if  the  above  calculations  are  founded  on  data  anywhere 
near  correct,  what  more  can  be  desired  to  show  the  applicability  and  value 
of  sheep  husbandry  to  this  section.  ^ 

From  three  very  respectable  wool  growers,  one  from  each  of  the  states  of 
Pennsylvania,  New  York,  and  Ohio,  I  was  told  the  way  to  make  a  calcu- 
lation on  the  profits  of  sheep  husbandry  in  a  reasonably  safe  way,  was  to 
put  down  every  year  one-ninth  less  of  lambs  than  you  have  ewes,  and  then 
deduct  one-tenth  from  the  whole  for  deaths  in  that  year. 

Thus,  say  you  have  •         100  ewes. 

From  100  deduct  one-ninth,  and  you  have      -  -         -      89  lambs. 

189 
Then  deduct  one-tenth  for  deaths,  -        -        -        -      18 


And  you  have 


To  start  with  the  next  year.     On  this  basis  I  have  taken  one  hundred  ewes 
and  run  the  calculation  on  for  eight  years.     The  result  was  : 

Wool  sheared  in  eight  years,    ........         17,190  Ibs. 

The  gentlemen  above  alluded  to,  say  that  half  the  wool  wia  pay  all  ex- 
penses, even  when  the  winters  require  five  months'  fp',d  : 

Deduct,  then,  one-half,  8,595,  at  20  cents,  ......         $171900 

The  increase  amounted  to  2067  sheep,  at  $  1,          .... 

Total,  ....        $3786  00 

This  result,  if  attained,  would  exceed  fifty  per  cent,  compounded.  They 
say,  too,  ii  is  a  safe  estimate  to  say  that  the  lambs  of  each  year  will  pay  the 
expenses  of  the  whole  flock  for  that  year  in  Pennsylvania.  They  more  than 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY"  Itf   SOUTH  CAKOLIXA.  301 


do  it  here.     Allow  eighty  lambs  to  one  hundred  ewes,  and  you  have  from 
five  hundred  ewes,  four  hundred  lambs ;  deduct  one-tenth  for  deaths,  and 

You  have  360  at  §1,    -        -        -        - $360  00 

Charge  20  cents  per  head  for  900  sheep,  makes      -         -         -     180  00 

Charge  for  shepherd, 150  00  —  330  00 

Lambs  over-pay  expenses  by -        -        -  $30  00 

All  these  calculations  are  made  on  the  supposition  that  sheep  get  a  par* 
of  that  regular  attention  which  all  farmers  give  to  their  other  domestic  ani 
mals.  And  to  make  sheep  husbandry  successful,  it  is  not  only  necessary 
that  this  attention  should  be  given,  but  every  one  who  attempts  it  shoulu 
know  something  of  their  diseases  and  the  cures,  and  also  the  summer  and 
\vinter  management.  This  can  he  acquired  only  by  their  own,  or  the  ex- 
perience of  others.  Easy  access  can  be  had  to  the  experience  of  northern 
wool  growers,  who  are  proverbial  for  being  close  observers.  They  say  the 
disease  called  the  "  scours"  is  the  principal  one  to  which  sheep  are  liable, 
produced  by  excess  of  rich  green  food,  and  cured  easily  by  a  change  to 
dry,  but  if  allowed  to  continue,  is  fatal. 

From  the  introduction  into  the  United  States,  in  1608,  of  Merino  sheep 
from  Spain,  owners  of  this  stock  have  considered  it  of  the  first  importance 
to  preserve  the  quality  and  quantity  of  their  fleece,  and  if  possible,  to  im 
prove  both.  They  ascertained  that  lambs  from  young  and  healthy  sirea 
improved,  while  those  from  old  ewes  fell  back  both  in  quality  and  quantity 
of  fleece. 

Among  them  it  is  now  a  settled  practice  not  to  breed  from  ewes  over 
seven  or  eight,  nor  from  bucks  over  six  years  old.  It  is  very  important  to 
resort  to  the  evidence  of  age  the  teeth  afford.  Their  books  have  been  par 
ticular  in  describing  these  evidences,  which  I  will  copy:  "During  the  first 
year,  lambs  have  eight  small  teeth  in  front,  in  the  upper  jaw,  called  nippers  ; 
at  a  year  old,  the  centre  two  shed,  and  two  larger  teeth  take  their  place. 
At  two  years  old,  the  next  two  are  lost,  and  supplied  by  two  larger  ones. 
Thus  losing  and  being  supplied  by  two  larger  ones  annually,  till  five — then 
they  have  a  full  set.  At  eight  or  nine  they  begin  to  lose  their  nippers — two 
every  year — and  by  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  old,'  they  have  lost  their 
entire  set." 

It  is  evident  that  during  the  time  ewes  are  losing  their  teeth,  they  become 
less  and  less  able  to  supply  themselves  with  food,  consequently  afford  less 
and  less  milk  for  their  young.  Thus  the  degeneracy  is  accounte-d  for.  In 
Vermont,  where  wool  is  as  much  their  staple  as  cotton  in  South  Carolina, 
so  important  do  they  consider  it  not  to  breed  from  ewes  after  they  begin  to 
lose  teeth,  that  although  mutton  is  not  used  by  the  inhabitants  for  the  table, 
they  sell  their  old  stock  to  be  fed  to  hogs. 

In  most  of  the  other  northern  states,  their  ewes  at  that  age  are  kept  from 
the  bucKs,  and  fattened  for  market.  From  their  known  skill  in  managing 
well  what  they  undertake,  we  may  safely  take  their  usage  as  a  guide,  when 
it  is  applicable  to  our  situation.  With  them  grass  is  the  entire  food  of  then 
flocks — green  meadows  for  summer  pasture  and  hay  for  winter.  Their  Avin« 
ters  require  five  months'  constant  feeding,  during  which  they  estimate  each 
sheep  to  consume  fifty  cents  worth  of  hay.  All  stock  is  then  kept  enclosed, 
and  the  attention  to  turning  sheep  to  pasture  in  summer,  and  feeding  sheep 
in  winter,  requires  but  little  labor  in  addition  to  their  other  stock. 

Flocks  require  close  attention  but  at  three  times  in  the  year — the  tupping, 
the  lambing,  and  shearing  seasons.  Ewes  go  with  lamb  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  days,  or  five  months,  and  they  so  manage  as  to  have  the  lambs. 


302          SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

brought  in  April  and  May ;  (here  February  is  esteemed  by  many  a  better 
month.)  To  do  this,  the  bucks  must  be  kept  impounded,  except  at  the 
time  desired.  From,  the  great  superiority  of  early  lambs,  this  part  of  sheep 
husbandry  is  esteemed  very  important.  . 

During  lambing  season,  close  attention  is  required  to  guard  both  ewe  and 
lamb  from  storms  and  cold  winds — to  see  that  the  ewe  acknowledges  her 
lamb,  and  to  keep  up  the  marking  and  altering  as  the  lambs  get  between 
five  and  ten  days  old. 

Ten  days  previous  to  shearing  time  they  prepare  for  it  by  washing  the 
wool  on  the  sheep'%s  back,  that  the  natural  oil  of  the  wool,  which  is  destroyed 
by  the  washing,  may  have  time  to  be  renewed,  without  which  the  wool  feels 
and  works  harsh.  The  washing  is  done  at  spouts  or  pools,  prepared  for  the 
purpose,  and  the  other  flocks  are  kept  on  clean  pastures  till  sheared.  As 
the  proper  preparation  of  an  article  for  market  is  justly  considered  of  the 
next  importance  to  a  good  article,  I  will  describe  this  process  minutely,  ac 
practised  for  the  northern  market.  The  shearing  is  done  on  a  clean  floor, 
and  each  fleece  is  kept  unbroken.  When  sheared,  it  is  roiled  outside  in, 
until  it  is  reduced  to  a  lump  about  ten  inches  each  way,  and  then  tied  with 
strings  in  two  places.  For  packing  the  wool,  a  bag  is  used  nearly  as  large 
as  our  cotton  bags,  which,  after  sewing  to  a  hoop  at  top,  they  hang  through 
a  hole  in  an  upper  floor,  a  little  less  in  diameter  than  the  hoop ;  here  the 
fleeces  are  packed  down  by  the  foot,  the  weight  of  an  ordinary  sized  man 
being  a  sufficient  pressure.  Thus  finished,  the  wool  is  ready  for  a  northern 
or  European  market.  Manufacturers  will  not  give  full  price  for  wool  unless 
the  fleeces  are  unbroken  ;  because,  before  manufacturing,  they  consider  it 
necessary  to  have  each  fleece  divided  into  five  qualities,  which  they  cannot 
do  if  the  wool  of  different  fleeces  is  emptied  together. 

Different  modes  of  summer  management  are  followed  in  different  coun- 
tries. The  one  followed  in  Australia,  as  described  by  Mr.  Randall,  is  not 
only  less  troublesome,  but  would  be  better  suited  to  our  mountain  region 
There  they  roam  over  the  plains,  under  charge  of  a  shepherd,  in  flocks  of 
three  hundred  to  one  thousand.  Every  night,  some  two  or  more  of  these 
flocks  are  penned  together,  during  the  entire  year.  Breeding  promiscuously 
from  the  bucks  that  run  with  the  flocks,  allowing  three  or  four  to  the  hun- 
dred ewes.  At  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  he  says  the  same  practice  pre- 
vails ;  and  from  both  of  these  places  the  wool  exported  is  equal,  and  in  some 
instances  superior  in  quality  to  the  Merino. 

The  statements  here  given,  Mr.  President,  we  have  carefully  considered, 
and  believe  to  be  true — and  we  submit  them  under  the  belief  that  if  the  im- 
portance of  sheep  husbandry  was  duly  considered,  especially  by  the  districts 
lying  north  and  contiguous  to  the  mountains,  much  additional  comfort  and 
wealth  might  be  added  to  that  already  delightful  region. 

All  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

R.  F.  SIMPSON. 


Note . — Since  this  report  was  read,  I  have  been  informed  by  Mr.  Thomas 
]Vi.  Sloan,  that  his  wool  does  not  cost  him  more  than  five  cents  a  pound— 
and  by  Mr.  Morris,  at  Pickens  C.  H.,  that  for  care,  shearing,  &c.,  of  a 
small  flock  of  eight  ewes,  worth  eight  dollars,  kept  on  Ocone  mountain,  he 
paid  one-half  of  the  spring  clipping,  equal  to  three-quarters  of  a  pound  per 
head,  and  that  from  them  he  had,  after  paying  all  expenses,  $3  60,  arid  eight 
bmbs  worth  eight  dollars — $11  60.  And  bir  Mr.  Shepherd  a  tenant  oii 


ANCRUM   OX   WOOL   MATTRESSES.  305 

Mr.  J,  O.' Lewis's  Tamosa  estate,  that  in  1840  he  took  with  him  from  Green- 
ville a  few  sheep, 

Among  which  were  4  ewes,  worth $4  DO 

They  had  4  lambs,  worth  .......         4  00 

Thinks  he  sheared  3  Ibs.  per  head,  but  say  2,  which  is  8  Ibs.  at  20  cts.  1  GO  —  5  GO 

In  1848,  from  8  sheared  14  Ibs.  woo*  at  20  cents,         -         -  2  SO 

And  had  8  lambs,  worth         -  -  -  -     7  00  —  9  SO 

$15  40 

Salt  and  shearing  was  the  only  expense.  He  had  only  offered  to  feed 
them  once  in  the  two  years,  and  then  they  refused  to  taste  corn  shelled  to 
them. 


H.  ANCRUM  ON  WOOL  MATTRESSES. 

ASHLEY,  Pike  county,  Mo. 

A  sound  man  in  one  night  of  seven  hours'  sleep,  generally  perspires  fifty 
ounces  avoirdupois  or  four  pounds  troy  weight ;  we  cannot  wonder  at  that, 
since  there  are  above  three  hundred  thousand  millions  of  pores  in  the  body 
of  a  middle-sized  man,  and  that  in  the  last  hours  of  sleep  one  perspires 
most ;  hence  the  impropriety  and  the  weakness  of  lying  too  long  in  a  soft 
bed,  and  the  necessity  of  lying  on  a  comparatively  hard  elastic  bed,  such  as  a 
wool  mattress.  In  France,  wool  mattresses  are  generally  adopted,  conse- 
quently you  never  meet  with  a  bad  bed  there.  I  have  travelled  all  over 
France,  and  never  met  with  a  bad  bed,  and  a  very  recent  intelligent  Ameri- 
can traveller  of  great  observation,  mentions,  on  his  removal  from  England 
to  France,  that  he  found  the  French  beds  delicious,  because  the  beds  are 
wool  mattresses. 

Mode  of  Making  a  Wool  Mattress, — The  first  thing  to  constitute  a  good 
healthy  bed  is,  that  it  must  be  absolutely  flat,  therefore  all  bedsteads  should 
have  wooden  laths  instead  of  sacking,  which  always  gives  and  forms  a  hol- 
low ;  the  wool  is  carded  by  hand,  and  all  knots  and  extraneous  matter  taken 
out ;  the  great  point  is  to  make  it  thick  enough.  The  best  bed  I  slept  in, 
in  my  life,  had  sixty  pounds  of  wool  in  it,  but  the  bed  was  a  very  large  extra 
size ;  half  that  quantity  will  make  a  small  bed,  but  if  you  wish  to  lie 
luxuriously,  yet  hard,  do  not  stint  the  wool,  that  makes  all  this  difference  ; 
it  lasts  for  ever — the  covering  is  washed  once  a  year ;  the  wool  is  carded, 
and  a  few  pounds  of  wool  added,  and  the  bed  is  sweet  and  new.  However 
luxuriously  he  may  be,  let  any  gentleman  have  a  good  wool  mattress  made, 
and  let  him  ride  forty  or  fifty  miles  and  thoroughly  fatigue  himself,  he  will 
then  know  the  value  of  such  a  bed.  My  object  is  also  to  increase  the  home 
consumption  of  our  wool.  There  are  twenty  odd  millions  in  the  United 
States ;  say  five  to  each  family,  four  millions ;  say  three  beds  to  each 
family,  taking  the  whole  population,  twelve  millions  ;  say  thirty  pounds  oi 
wool  to  each  bed,  three  hundred  and  sixty  millions  of  pounds  of  wool ;  sa" 
thirly-four  millions  of  sheep  in  the  United  States,  say  eighty  million  pounds 
of  wool ;  this  will  consume  more  than  four  years'  clip  of  our  wool.  This 
ought  to  be  promulgated  to  increase  the  consumption  of  our  wool,  and  such 
wool  as  cannot  be  sold  abroad.  Independent  of  the  benefit  to  all  in  theii 
health,  who  adopt  wool  mattresses  on  account  of  their  cleanliness  and  dura- 
bility, in  the  end,  they  are  cheaper  than  any  other  bedding. 

Every  thing  that  increases  the  home  consumption  of  our  wool  is  of  na-  , 
tional  importance,  as  is  every  thing  that  will  promote  the  general  health  ol 


394.  ANCRUM  ON  WOOL   MATTRESSES. 

our  people.     In  this  changeable  and  rigorous  climate  in  winter,  i'f  all  wert 

to  wear  flannel,  particularly  narrow-chested  and  delicate  females,  it  would 

be  of  the  greatest  benefit  to  their  health,  and  save  them  many  a  fit  of  sick- 

,t<ess.     Wjien  we  consider  how  cheap  the  English  sell  their  Welsh  flan- 

[uel,  it  ought  to  stimulate  our  manufacturers;  I  must,  however,  observe,  that 

;  I  never  purchased  any  flannel  in  the  United  States  equal  to  the  real  Welsh 

flannel,  or  that  did  not  shrink,  or  that  wore  near  so  long  as  the  English 

flannel.     The  English  flannel  has  a  nap  on  both  sides,  which  renders  it 

warm  and  soft,  and  it  washes  soft  to  the  last.    The  United  States  flannel 

that  I  have  used  washes  harsh,  and  the  wear  is  not  near  so  agreeable  as 

real  Welsh  flannel,  but  surely  all  these  difficulties  can  be  overcome  by  our 

people,  and  they  can  make  as  good  flannel  as  the  best  Welsh  flannel. 

It  is  well  known  that  woollen  clothes,  such  as  flannels,  worn  next  the  skin, 
promote  insensible  perspiration.  May  not  this  arise  principally  from  the 
strong  attraction  which  subsists  between  wool  and  the  watery  vapcr  which  is 
continually  issuing  from  the  human  body  ?  That  it  does  net  depend  entirely 
on  the  warmth  of  that  covering  is  clear,  because  one  degree  of  warmth  produced 
by  wearing  more  clothing  of  a  different  kind  does  not  produce  the  same  effect,. 
The  perspiration  of  the  human  body  being  absorbed  by  a  covering  of  flannel, 
it  is  immediately  distributed  through  the  whole  thickness  of  that  substance, 
and  by  this  means  exposed  by  a  very  large  surface  to  be  carried  ofF  by  the 
atmosphere,  and  the  loss  of  the  watery  vapor  which  the  flannel  sustains  on 
the  one  side  by  evaporation,  being  immediately  restored  from  the  other  in 
consequence  of  the  strong  attraction  between  the  flannel  and  this  vapor,  the 
pores  of  the  skin  are  disencumbered,  and  they  are  continually  surrounded 
with  a  dry  and  salubrious  atmosphere.  It  is  astonishing  that  the  custom 
of  wearing  flannel  next  the  skin  should  not  have  prevailed  more  universally  ; 
it  is  certain  it  would  prevent  a  number  of  diseases,  and  there  certainly  is  na 
greater  luxury  than  the  comfortable  sensation  which  arises  from  wearing  it, 
after  one  is  accustomed  to  it.  It  is  a  mistaken  notion  that  it  is  too  warm 
clothing  for  summer ;  it  may  be  worn  in  the  hottest  climates,  at  all  seasons 
of  the  year,  without  the  least  inconvenience  arising  from  wearing  it.*  It  is 
the  warm-bath  of  a  perspiration  confined  by  a  linen  shirt,  wet  with  sweat, 
which  renders  the  summer  heats  of  southern  climates  so  insupportable ;  but 
flannel  promotes  perspiration  and  favors  its  evaporation,  and  evaporation, 
as  it  is  well  known,  produces  positive  cold.  I  can  vouch  for  the  truth  of 
every  word  of  this.  I  wear  the  same  kind  of  flannel  all  summer  as  I  do  in 
winter  with  sleeves  ;*  when  I  take  extra  exercise  and  perspire  freely,  my 
body  and  flesh  is  always  cool  and  comfortable,  and  in  part  I  owe  it  to  wear- 
ing "flannel  that  I  have  never  had  either  fever  or  ague  in  this  western  coun- 
try, which  is  full  of  it.  All  this  may  appear  trivial,  and  sanitary  rules  are 
disregarded,  but  it  is  all  of  the  utmost  importance  and  to  all.  Say  fifteen 
millions  of  our  people  wear  flannel  next  their  skin,  and  three  flannel  waist- 
coats to  each,  that  is  forty-five  millions  of  waistcoats,  at  two  yards  each, 
(not  enough  with  sleeves  as  they  ought  to  be  made,)  ninety  millions  of  yards 
of  flannels  in  waistcoats  only.  Old  people,  delicate  women  and  children, 
and  above  all,  consumptive  people,  ought  all  to  wear  flannel  drawers  as  well 
as  a  flannel  waistcoat ;  if  this  was  adopted,  the  great  sickness  that  prevails 
in  the  United  States  would  be  much  diminished.  Men  drink  spirituoua 
liquors  to  increase  the  animal  heat,  and  feel  that  glow  that  is  called  com- 
fortable. Let  them  wear  flannel  next  their  skin  instead,  and  keep  the  body 
ivrmn  and  the  head  cool, 

*  Tho  firemen  in  steamboats  could  not  exist  if  they  worn  linen  instead  of  flannel  shirts.    The  pleasant 
wt  of  ail  mattresses  is  one  made  of  a  mixture  of  wool  and  hair.    |E°8  I^OUGII,  LOOM,  ANJ>  ANVIL.] 


SHEEP   HUSBANDRY    IN  TEXAS.  305 


SHEEP  HUSBANDKY  IN  TEXAS. 

BY   H.    S.    KANDALL,    LL.D., 

Author  of"  Life  of  Thomas   Jefferson;"  Editor  of  Randall's  "  Youatl  on  the  Horse,"  etc.,  etc. 

EDITORS  OF  TEXAS  ALMANAC  :  In  pursuance  of  your  request,  I  proceed 
to  give  you  some  of  the  results  of  my  experience  and  investigations  in  re- 
gard to  wool-growing,  and  my  views  of  the  adaptation  of  this  husbandry 
to  the  climate,  soil,  and  other  existing  conditions  of  Texas. 

CLIMATE. — The  best  climate  for  the  cheap  production  of  wool,  other 
things  being  equal,  obviously  is  that  which  furnishes  the  most  abundant 
and  suitable  pasturage  during  the  greatest  portion  of  the  year.  This, 
speaking  generally,  is  to  be  found  in  the  Northern  hemisphere,  between 
latitudes  30°  and  40°  on  the  eastern  margin  of  each  continent,  and  be- 
tween  about  3.8°  and  48°  on  the  western.  The  south  half  of  this  wool- 
growing  zone,  where  the  other  conditions  besides  climate  are  favorable, 
.excels  the  northern. 

North  of  the  wool-growing  zone,  the  growth  of  vegetation  is  suspend- 
ed, and  the  nutritiveness  of  grasses  destroyed  by  cold,  during  considera- 
ble portions  of  the  year ;  and  then  sheep  require  more  expensive  dry 
feed,  suitable  winter  shelter,  etc.  South  of  the  wool-growing  zone,  veg- 
etation, where  it  flourishes,  is  too  rank  and  tropical  for  the  smaller  rumin- 
ating animals,  and  the  heat  too  intense  for  those  carrying  so  dense  a 
pelage  as  the  fine-woolled  sheep. 

Local  exceptions  exist  to  the  above  classification,  owing  to  a  variety  of 
causes;  most  prominent  of  which  are  altitude,  the  shelter  of  mountains 
from  northern  and  southern  winds,  the  contiguity  of  large  bodies  of 
water,  etc. 

I  have  said,  "  other  things  being  equal,"  the  question  will  be  immedi- 
ately asked  whether  wool  of  the  same  variety  of  sheep  grown  in  latitude 
30°  is  as  fine  as  that  grown  in  latitude  40°  or  45°  I  doubt  whether  it  is. 
Sheep  transported  from  a  climate  of  long  winters  to  one  of  perennial,  or 
nearly  perennial,  pasturage,  increase  visibly  in  size,  and  their  descendants 
permanently  become  a  larger  variety.  The  constant  supply  of  succulent 
food  produces  more  copious  and  uniform  animal  secretions  than  an  inter- 
rupted supply,  or  than  an  alternating  supply  of  green  and  dry  food.  In 
theory,  we  should  expect  the  same  causes  to  affect  the  fleece  as  well  as 
the  carcass.  They  do  visibly  increase  the  length  of  the  staple.  The  in- 
crease of  its  diameter  (admitting  that  it  does  increase)  during  over  twenty 
years  of  breeding — about  as  far  as  my  personal  observations  have  extend- 
on  that  point — is  not,  I  think,  perceptible  to  the  naked  eye.  But  be  it, 
greater  or  smaller,  it  is  more  than  compensated  for  by  the  increased  soft- 
ness and  evenness  of  wools  grown  in  warm  and  more  uniform  climates, 
and  on  more  uniformly  succulent  nutriment.  I  must  be  content  to  state 
this  as  a  well-established  practical  fact.  I  have  not  room  to  array  author- 
ities on  every  point. 

SOIL. — It  would  present  a  very  tangible,  and  by  no  means  a  bad  test 
of  the  proper  soils  for  wool-growing,  to  say  that  they  are  those  which 
produce,  or  which  can  be  made  to  produce,  the  most  continuous  supply 
of  fine  sweet  grasses.  A  marshy  soil,  a  soil  containing  so  great  an  excess 
of  clay  as  to  poach  into  mud,  and  remain  long  wet  after  rains,  a  low, 
lankly,  rich  river  bottom  alluvion,  and  especially  such  an  alluvion,  if  annu- 
ally replenished  by  slimy  deposits  of  decaying  vegetable  matter,  all  inju- 


306  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY   IX   TEXAS. 

riously  affect  the  health  of  sheep.  None  of  these  soils  produce  the 
grasses  I  have  mentioned.  The  best  lands  for  sheep  are  those  which  are 
dry  and  "  sound ;"  which  admit  of  the  rapid  percolation  or  drainage  of 
water ;  and  an  admixture  of  sand  or  gravel  in  them,  is  a  favorable, 
though  by  no  means  an  indispensable  condition.  Enormous  flocks  of 
sheep  flourish,  in  perfect  health,  on  the  plains  of  Illinois,  which  are 
"  sticky  "  after  every  shower.  But  water  does  not  stand  on  them  as  on 
a  stiff  clay,  nor  does  it  constantly  saturate  them  as  it  does  boggy  lands. 

It  is  sometimes  claimed — particularly  by  that  class  of  tyros  who  are 
ready  to  jump  at  conclusions  on  a  very  limited  experience — that  sheep  ow 
their  farms,  or  in  their  localities,  defy  all  the  preceding  conditions.  They 
flourish,  if  we  may  believe  these  gentlemen,  in  stagnant  fens,  in  "  hog- 
wallows,"  and  on  river  bottoms,  where  the  malaria  is  almost  yisible,  as  it 
steams  up  from  the  decomposing  mass.  It  is  true  that  fifty  sheep,  like  a 
small  family  of  human  beings,  will  occasionally,  and  for  "a  limited,  period, 
appear  unaffected  by  such  unpropitious  circumstances.  But,  by  and  by 
comes  the  destroyer — the  pestilence  that  walketh  by  noon-day — and  the 
increase  of  years  is  suddenly  swept  away.  Cholera,  yellow  fever,  or  biL 
ions  fever  depopulates  the  human  settlement — rot,  or  some  other  epidemic,' 
passes,  like  a  tornado,  ovei\  the  sheep-ranch/  The  causes  of  disease  do 
not  bear  fruit  every  year,  but  the  laws  of  nature  are  never  abrogated. 

Sheep  tolerate  almost  all  chemical  varieties  of  soil.  With  the  proper 
conditions  in  other  respects,  they  are  seemingly  equally  healthy  on  the 
sterile,  pulverized  granite  of  New  England,  and  the  rich,  calcareous  wheat 
lands  of  Ohio,  or  the  Valley  of  Virginia — on  the  tertiary  sands  of  our 
Atlantic  border,  and  among  the  rocky  cliffs  of  the  Alleghanies.  No  ani- 
mal is  so  necessary  to  man,  and  therefore  none  has  been  adapted  to  tin 
circumstances  of  so  large  a  portion  of  the  earth's  surface. 

ELEVATION-.— Elevation  is,  I  rather  think,  a  pleasing  condition  to  ar 
animal,  which,  like  the  goat,  the  ibex,  etc.,  zoologists  consider  the  natural 
denizen  of  mountain  regions ;  and  mountains  and  hills  often  present  the 
other  condition  which  are  specially  adapted  to  sheep — firm  dry  soils,  short 
sweet  grasses,  pure  air,  and  clear  water.  But  elevation  is  of  no  conse- 
quence per  se  /  and  if  the  same  favorable  conditions  are  found  on  plains, 
they  are  as  healthy  localities  for  sheep  as  mountains. 

GRASSES. — Sheep  will  thrive  on  almost  all  varieties  of  gaass,  Avhen  they 
are  first  springing  up  tender  and  succulent  from  the  earth.  No  grass  is 
suitable  for  them,  when  its  stems  have  become  dry  and  woody.  Tough, 
aquatic  grasses  are  always  unfavorable.  We  are  to  .give  the  preference, 
then,  to  those  varieties  which  do  not  send  up  coarse  seed  stems — those 
which  are  constantly  supplying  a  fine  verdure  from  the  root.  No  variety 
is  preferable  to  the  small,  spontaneous,  white  clover  of  the  north,  or  the 
finest  spontaneous  musquite  grasses  of  Texas.  Red  clover,  Timothy, 
June,  or  Blue  grass  ;*  indeed,  all  the  grasses  cultivated  in  the  north,  will 
do  very  well  if  kept  fed  down,  and  this  might  be  the  case  with  many  of 
the  coarser  varieties  in  Texas.  Some  small  flock-masters  have  fancied 
that  sheep  would  thrive  on  the  dry  steins  of  tall,  coarse  grasses — because 
they  thrive  among  them.  But  a  few  sheep  will  find  tender,  nutritious 
plants,  which  are  screened  from  casual  observation  among  these  taller 
ones.  When  the  former  are  gone,  sheep  will  promptly  and  visibly  fall  of! 
in  condition. 

The  fact  that  the  natural  grass  is  too  coarse  for  sheep,  by  no  means 

*  I  am  not  sure  that  the  pure«?rass  of  New  York  and  the  Blue  grass  of  Kentucky  arc  the  same,  nevei 
kavmg  specially  investigated  the  subject :  but  the  late  Mr.  Clay  wrote  me  that  they  were  the  earne. 


SHEEP   HUSBANDRY  IN   TEXAS.  307 

proves  that  proper  "  artificial  "  varieties  would  not  flourish  on  the  same 
soil,  particularly  if  the  first  flush  of  its  virgin  fertility  was  a  little  reduced 
by  cropping. 

WATER. — Water  is  not  indispensable  for  sheep,  when  at  pasture.  Tho 
juices  of  the  grass  and  the  dew  and  rains  supply  their  wants.  Thousands 
and  thousands  of  good  sheep-pastures  in  the  north  are  wholly  without 
other  sources  of  supply.  But,  of  choice,  I  would  prefer  water  in  sheep- 
pastures — clear  springs,  or  rapidly  running  brooks.  Sheep  will  visit 
these  as  regularly  as  cows  or  horses. 

ADAPTATION  OF  TEXAS. — As  I  remarked  in  my  answers  to  your  inter- 
rogatories on  this  same  subject,  last  fall,  (published  by  you  in  the  Graioes- 
ton  jVeios,)  I  have  never  set  my  foot  in  your  State.  But,  after  the  expe- 
rience of  many  years  in  sheep-breeding,  and  after  a  close  and  diligent 
investigation,  extending  to  all  available  sources  of  information — many  of 
these  the  minute  and  careful  statements  of  your  own  most  intelligent  and 
candid  citizens — I  do  not  entertain  a  particle  of  doubt,  first,  that  you 
have  vast  regions  in  Texas  admirably  adapted  to  sheep  husbandry;  and 
secondly,  that  wool  can  now  be  raised  more  cheaply  in  those  regions  than 
m  any  other  portion  of  the  globe,  where  sufficiently  good  government 
prevails  to  make  life  tolerable  and  secure,  and  such  property  as  sheep 
safe  from  frequent  and  extensive  depredations.  In  no  such  portion  of  the 
earth,  are  lands,  furnishing  perennial  pasturage,  (or  the  use  of  such  lands,) 
so  cheap.  In  none  are  the  general  circumstances  more  favorable,  the  ac- 
cidental and  occasional  disadvantages  fewer.  In  nearly  every  particular,, 
Texas  possesses  decided  advantages  over  our  other  Southern  States,  and} 
enormous  ones  over  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States. 

As  between  it  and  the  latter,  a  brief  statement  disposes  of  all  contro- 
versy. The  sheep-lands  of  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States  cost,  on  ani 
average,  thirty  dollars  an  acre  ;  and  sheep  are  frequently  kept  on  those- 
worth  from  forty  to  sixty  dollars  an  acre.  On  these  high-priced  lands,, 
sheep  must  be  fed  on  dry  feed — hay  and  grain — about  five  months  of  each 
year.  Expensive  shelters  must  be  erected,  or  the  sheep-farmer  will  lose- 
the  cost  of  them  in  the  loss  of  life  and  condition  in  his  flocks. 

In  Texas,  prime  and  desirable  pasture-lands  can  be  bought  at  two  dol- 
lars an  acre — frequently  for  considerably  less.  He  who  owns  a  home- 
stead of  a  few  acres,  can  pasture  thousands  of  acres  of  unoccupied  land. 
The  pasturage  of  much  of  Texas  is  perennial.  Large  and  small  flock- 
masters  have  proved  this  to  be  a  practical  fact.  Mr.  Kendall  has  wintered 
a  large  and  constantly  increasing  number  of  sheep,  for  three  years,  with- 
out, ho  writes  rue,  giving  u  an  ounce  "  of  dry  feed,  or  providing  any  arti- 
ficial shelter,  though  he  agrees  with  me  that  a  little  of  both  would  be 
desirable  for  emergencies.  (Pe  has  encountered  wet  winters  and  dry 
winters  with  equal  success.  His  sheep  are  perfectly  healthy.  His  testi- 
mony is  fully  confirmed  by  that  of  some  twenty  other  candid  and  intelli- 
gent gentlemen,  scattered  over  various  parts  of  the  State,  who  have' 
favored  me  with  minute  accounts  of  their  experience  in  sheep-raising. 
.Theory  would  anticipate  these  facts  when  the  natural  conditions  of  Texas 
are  known ;  but  it  is  always  satisfactory  to  have  the  suggestions  of  theory 
established  and  made  certain  by  actual  experiment. 

Your  country  cannot  always  enjoy  this  entire  priority  in  the  conditions, 
for  cheap  wool  production.  The  success  of  this  husbandry  of  itself  will 
aid  in  reducing  its  profits.  Your  sheep-lands  skirt  noble  and  navigable 
rivers,  Unlike  our  rough  sheep-ranges  of  the  North,  they  are  topograph- 
ically adapted  to  the  construction  of  those  railroads  which  the  busiu.es* 


308  SHEEP   HUSBANDRY   IN   TEXAS. 

of  your  State  will  soon  demand.  An  enterprising  population  is  pouring 
in  upon  you  from  the  other  States  of  the  Union,  and  from  Europe.  The 
boy  is  now  born  who  will  see,  not  only  the  good  soils  in  all  the  counties 
at  present  organized  in  Texas,  but  in  its  regions  where  now  roves  the 
wild  Camanche,  worth  twenty  or  thirty  dollars  an  acre.  Then  the  sunny 
but  unarable  slopes  of  the  Alleghanies,  in  Virginia,  the  Carolinas,  etc., 
may  successfully  compete  with  you  in  wool-growing,  owing  to  their 
greater  cheapness. 

PROFITS  OF  TVOOL-GEOWIXG. — Northern  flock-masters  usually  estimate 
the  consumption  of  eight  American  Merino  sheep  equivalent  to  that  of  a 
cow.  All  prime  American  Merino  flocks  should  average  as  high  as  about 
five  pounds  of  washed  wool  per  head,  or  seven  and  a-half  pounds  of  un- 
washed wool.  Choice  breeding  flocks  should  do  better  still.  To  show 
you  that  I  speak  from  actual  knowledge  instead  of  conjecture,  let  me  say 
that  I  have  two  flocks  of  pure  Spanish  (American  Merino)  yearling  ewes, 
which  averaged,  this  year,  five  pounds  and  six  ounces  of  well-washed 
wool  per  head — equivalent  to  eight  pounds  and  one  ounce  unwashed; 
and  the  yearling  never  produces  as  much  wool  as  the  adult  sheep.  A 
choice  small  flock  of  my  grown  ewes  averaged  six  pounds  and  a  fraction 
of  washed  wool  per  head,  equivalent  to  nine  pounds  unwashed.  In  none 
of  these  docks  were  there  any  rams  or  wethers  to  increase  the  yield  of 
wool:  None  of  them  received  any  pampering,  or  were  sheared  at  an 
unusual  time.  I  have  cross-breeds  between  the  Drench  and  Spanish 
which  averaged  still  higher ;  but  they  are  larger,  and  will  consume  more. 
For  many  years  my  entire,  number  of  full-blood  sheep  of  all  ages,  exceed- 
ed five  pounds  of  washed  wool  per  head. 

The  price  of  American  Merino  wool  (washed)  has  been  as  follows,  on 
the  first  day  of  August,  in  the  ye.  \rs  indicated  : — 

1851  42  to  44  cents. 

1852  40  to  43     " 
185P  49  to  53     " 

1854  38  to  40  " 

1855  37  to  3S  c; 

1856  44  to  4fi  " 
185?  45  to  48  '• 

1858  37  to  41     " 

1859  44  to  46     " 

Assuming  five  pounds  to  oe  the  weight  of  fleece,  and  eight  ewe  sheep 
to  be  the  equivalent  of  a  cow  in  consumption,  it  follows  that  the  feed  of 
•a  cow  would  have  returned  this  year  eiglffeen  dollars  in  wool,  and  as 
many  lambs  as  eight  ewes  would  raise,  which  would  be  at  least  seven. 
What  these  seven'lambs  would  additionally  be  worth  to  the  Texas  grower, 
I  leave  you  to  estimate.  Even  among  common  sheep,  the  lamb  is  always 
considered  to  be  worth  as  much  as  its  dam's  fleece.  If  rams  And  wethers 
raise  no  lambs,  they  produce  greatly  more  wool  than  ewes.  Now  say 
what  are  the  profits  of  a  cow  in  Texas,  and  deduct  the  difference  in  the 
^rouble  of  looking  after  her  ard  the  eight  sheep,  and  you  have  a  compar- 
ative view  of  the  profits  between  the  animals,  which  will  prove  instruc- 
tive !  po  you  obtain  five  dollars  per  head  of  net  annual  profits  on  cows, 
en  the  average  ?  And  yet  you  raise  cattle  on  a  scale  which  conveys  the 
idea  that  you  find  it  as  profitable  as  any  other  of  your  branches  of  hus- 
bandry on  the  pasture-lands  of  Texas.  In  my  former  letters  to  you  I 


SHEEP   HUSBANDRY  IN  TEXAS.  309 

placed  tho  entire  cost  of  keeping  sheep,  including  interest  on  land,  at 
fifty  cents  a  head  per  annum.  In  this  estimate,  I  included  the  cost  ot 
shelters,  of  a  month's  winter  feed,  and  some  other  contingencies,  all  of 
whicl  I  am  assured  by  intelligent  Texians  are  unnecessary.  I  also  proceed- 
ed on  the  supposition  that  no  lands  were  to  be  pastured  but  those  which  had 
been  bought  and  paid  for  by  the  flock-master.  If  these  items  be  struck 
out,  the  cost  of  keeping  large  flocks  ought  not  to  exceed  one  half  of  my 
former  estimate.  I  confess,  however,  that  this  sounds  almost  too  favora- 
ble to  be  true.  Mr.  Jefferson  deeply  lamented  the  dismemberment  of 
that  Texas  from  the  United  States  which  he  had  bought  with  Louisiana 
— considering  it  the  very  garden  of  our  Southern  country.  But  the 
"Sage  of  Monticello  "  hardly  expected  to  find  El  Dorado  in  your  sheep- 
pastures,  or  Aladdin's  lamp  on  the  bank  of  the  Colorado  !  I  repeat  it, 
the  story  must  be  too  good  to  be  all  true. 

The  first  cost  of  embarking  in  breeding  full-blood  sheep  is  considerable. 
But  the  sale  of  surplus  ones  at  extra  prices  to  newer  breeders  will  soon 
offset  this ;  and,  at  all  events,  it  is  so  soon  repaid  by  the  enormous  profits 
of  the  husbandry,  that  it  is  not  to  be  kept  in  view  as  an  annual  part  of 
the  account.  Interest  ceases  to  run  after  the  principal  is  paid ! 

Another  important  fact  in  favor  of  sheep  is  always  to  be  taken  into 
view.  If  the  steer  or  colt  dies  before  it  is  sold  or  used — if  the  cow  dies 
before  she  has  produced  young — the  loss  is  nearly  a  total  one.  At  best, 
the  colt  keeps  you  waiting  on  him,  say  three  years,  and  the  steer  and 
heifer,  at  least  two,  before  they  commence  making  returns.  The  sheep  is 
a  prompter  paymaster.  He  pays  you  annually.  And  he  never  dies  iu 
your  debt.  If  he  dies  before  he  is  six  months  old,  he  has  cost  you  noth- 
ing that  is  appreciable.  If  he  dies  afterwards,  before  his  first  shearing, 
liia  wool  will  more  than  pay  for  what  he  has  consumed  ;  and  this  is  true 
of  him  at  whatever  age  his  death  occurs,  taking  the  aggregate  of  his  life 
together. 

BEST  BKEE^D  OF  SHEEP. — "When  wool  is  the  main  object,  and  mutton 
is  only  an  incidental  one — as  always  must  be  the  case  in  a  large  and 
thinly  inhabited  country  like  Texas,  not  yet  containing  populous  cities — 
there  is  but  one  breed  of  sheep  worth  consideration,  so  far  as  comparative 
intrinsic  value  is  concerned.  I  can  declare  on  a  pretty  extensive  experi- 
ence— but  it  really  needs  no  experience  to  arrive  at  that  conclusion — that 
no  other  breed  makes  a  remote  approach  to  the  value  of  the  Merino  for 
the  production  of  wool ;  and  its  mutton  is  good  and  palatable.  Half  and 
three-quarter  breed  Merino  mutton  is  especially  so,  and  five  Americans 
out  of  six  would  prefer  it,  on  the  table,  to  the  tallowy  meat  of  the  large 
long-woolled  English  mutton  varieties. 

Well-bred  Merinos  yield  about  as  much  wool  per  head  as  the  largest 
English  long-woolled  breeds — yield  farmore  than  English  middle-woolled 
breeds — yield  about  twice  as  much  value  of  wool  for  the  amount  of  feed 
consumed  as.  any  English  breed — and  are  hardier,  and  herd  (that  is, 
thrive  when  kept  together  in  large  numbers)  better  than  any  of  the  more 
valuable  English  varieties.  Their  length  of  life  is  much  greater.  A 
Merino  is  not,  to  use  a  common  expression,  "  older  at  eight"  than  a  Bake- 
well  or  Southdown  shwp  is  at  five.  And,  what  may  not  be  quite  as  well 
understood  by  those  who  have  not  experimented  with  both  races,  (as  I 
have,)  the  Merino  is  decidedly  hardier  than  the  high-bred  English  sheep. 
It  is  less  addicted  to  colds  or  snuffles,  bears  extremes  of  weather  better, 
is  capable  of  travelling  farther  for  its  food,  and  will  endure  a  scarcity  oi 
food  with  far  greater  impunity.  The  English  sheep  has  the  advantage  of 


310  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY   IN   TEXAS. 

arriving  earlier  at  maturity — a  matter  of  much  importance  in  a  mutton 
breed,  but  of  comparatively  little  in  a  wool-growing  one. 

Of  the  unimproved  English  and  Scotch  varieties,  it  is  unnecessary  to 
speak.  Several  of  them  are  much  superior  to  the  improved  varieties  of 
thos-3  countries  in  hardiness  and  herding  properties ;  but  they  all  produce 
coarse,  and,  compared  with  the  Merino,  light  fleeces.  None  of  them  are, 
in  my  opinion,  really  essentially  superior  for  wool-growing  to  what  is 
termed  the  "  native  stock"  in  New- York  and  New-England. 

SPANISH  MERINOS. — I  shall  not  here  consume  space  with  the  past  his- 
tory of  any  breed.  The  ancient  Spanish  sheep,  as  imported  into  this 
country  by  Humphreys,  Jarvis,  and  other  breeders,  whose  character  gave 
full  warrant  of  supposed  purity  of  blood,  produced  of  washed  wool  less 
than  four  pounds  in  the  ewes,  and  seven  in  the  rams.  The  flocks  of 
Spain,  taken  as  a  whole,  are  declared  by  that  most  intelligent  observer 
and  investigator,  Chancellor  Livingston,  to  have  averaged  of  washed 
wool,  only  two  pounds  and  a  half  in  the  ewe,  and  four  and  a  quarter  in 
the  ram.  (See  Livingston's  Essay  on  Sheep,  p.  39.)  They  resembled  the 
present  American  Merino  in  form,  but  were  smaller. 

SAXON  MERINOS. — The  Saxon  was  the  first  great  offshoot  from  the 
parent  Merino  stem.  Partly  from  the  principle  of  selection  first  adopted, 
and  partly  from  the  system  of  management,  and  the  special  objects  pur- 
sued in  breeding,  this  variety  materially  dwindled  from  the  size,  consti- 
tution, and  Aveight  of  fleece  of  the  Spanish  sheep,  but  improved  in  the 
quality  of  the  wool.  The  first  considerable  importation  into  the  United 
{States  took  place  in  1824,  and  the  mania  for  these  feeble  little  things 
raged  to  such  an  extent,  for  the  three  succeeding  years,  that  the  most 
miserable  mongrels  and  grade  sheep  were  introduced  and  sold  under 
their  name.  (See  the  authoritative  and  undenied  statements  of  the  dis- 
tinguished German  importer  and  shepherd,  Henry  D.  Grove,  on  this  sub- 
ject, made  to  me  as  the  chairman  of  a  Committee  appointed  by  the  N.  Y. 
State  Agricultural  Society,  in  1837,  to  report  on  "  The  condition  and 
Comparative  Value  of  the  several  Breeds  of  Sheep  in  the  United  States." 
Society's  Transactions,  1841,  p.  313.) 

The  American  Saxon  of  the  present  day  is  a  much  larger  and  stronger 
sheep  than  its  imported  ancestor,  with,  I  think,  about  the  same  quality 
and  a  greater  quantity  of  wool.  Some  pure-  flocks  now  produce  an 
average  'of  nearly  three  and  a  half  pounds  of  washed  wool,  and  others 
dashed  with  a  strain  of  fine  American  Merino  blood,  not  materially 
changing  the  quality  of  the  fleece,  average  very  near  four  pounds.  It 
continues,  however,  to  require  considerably  more  care  than  the  American 
Merino,  and  does  not  rear  so  large  a  per  centage  of  lambs. 

SILESIAN  MERINOS. — These  appear  to  be  something  between  the  Saxon 
and  American  Merino-^- heavier  fleece  than  the  former,  finer  fleece  than 
the  latter — and  between  the  two  in  size.  Some  specimens  I  have  seen 
had  fine  plump  forms,  and  their  wool  the  oil  and  external  black  gum  of 
the  gummiest  family  of  Merinos.  They  might,  I  should  say,  prove  a 
desirable  variety  under  certain  circumstances,  and  I  think  a  cross  with 
them  would  improve  the  Saxon  type  of  sheep.  They  are  the  only  Merino 
family  which  I  have  not  bred. 

FREXCII  MERINOS. — The  selection  and  management  of  the  Spanish 
Merinos  in  France,  first  carried  into  that  country  a  little  more  than 
seventy  years  ago,  produced  precisely  the  contrary  effects  in  several  im- 
portant particulars  from  those  produced  by  the  German  system.  The 
carcass  was  made  larger,  the  fleece  heavier  and  coarser.  But  a  portion 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN   TEXAS.  311 

Df  those  introduced  from  France  into  the  United  States,  within  a  few 
years,  have  not  been  characteristic  specimens  of  the  variet  y  in  either  of 
these  particulars.  They  have  been  exaggerated  specimens  or  caricatures 
of  the  breed.  They  were  those  exceptional  animals  to  be  found  in  all 
flocks,  larger  and  heavier-fleeced  than  the  great  body  of  those  flocks,  j 
apprehend  also  that  some  of  them  were  exceptional  in  certain  other 
particulars,  as  for  example,  in  that  enormous  "  throatiness"  which  renders 
them  such  a  marvel  to  the  multitude. 

There  is  no  doubt,  however,  that  as  a  variety,  the  French  Merinos  are 
larger  and  heavier-fleeced  than  any  other  Merino  family.  But  in  respect 
to  fleece,  the  best  of  them  do  not  excel  the  best  American  Merino  as 
much  as  in  weight  of  carcass ;  in  other  words,  they  do  not  produce  as 
much  wool  in  proportion  to  size,  and,  accordingly,  to  consumption. 
There  are  two  causes  for  this.  The  first  is,  their  wool  has,  for  reasons 
which  I  can  not  explain,  been  bred  proportionably  short.  As  some  very 
remarkable  misconceptions  appear  to  prevail  on  this  particular  point,  let 
me  state  a  positive  and  tangible  fact  for  which  I  am  willing  to  be  held 
responsible.  I  recently  (to  test  the  accuracy  of  previous  impressions  and 
experiences)  carefully  measured,  lying  unstretched  on  a  table,  fifteen 
specimens  of  French  Merino  wool,  taken  indiscriminately  (with  the  aid 
of  the  owner)  from  the  sheared  fleeces  of  one  year's  growth  of  a  pure 
blood  flock,  descended  from  prime  sheep  of  Mr.  Taintor's  importation, 
and  considered  by  French  breeders  prime  sheep  of  the  variety.  The 
fifteen  specimens  averaged  a  little  less  than  two  inches  in  length.  I  have 
owned  French  sheep  from  the  best  imported  flocks,  have  seen  hundreds, 
if  not  thousands,  of  others,  and  they  have  been  almost  uniformly  rather 
short-woolled  sheep — shorter  woolled  than  the  longest  stapled  American 
Merino  flocks. 

The  second  reason  for  the  comparative  lightness  of  French  fleeces,  is 
their  dryness — their  freedom  from  oil  and  gum.  Though  there  are  ex- 
ceptions, there  is  a  constant  tendency  in  this  direction  among  them,  and 
unless  care  be  taken  in  breeding  to  prevent  it,  the  wool  becomes  almost  as 
dry  as  cotton,  aud  then  the  fleece  has  no  proportionate  weight  for  its  bulk. 
The  difference  in  appearance  and  handling  between  such  and  good 
American  wool  is  very  analogous  to  that  between  American  and  choice 
Italian  sewing-silk.  The  first,  in  both  cases,  even  when  the  actual  fine- 
ness (diameter)  is  the  same,  is  comparatively  light,  unelastic,  unglossy, 
and  "  cheap  looking."  I  have  sometimes  fancied  that  the  pile  or  fibre  of 
the  American  Merino  wool  is  actually  denser  and  heavier  of  its  size  than 
the  French,  independently  of  all  extraneous  substances.  This,  however, 
may  be  but  a  fancy.  ^ 

French  wool  washes  much  cleaner  than  the  oily  and  gummy  American 
Merino  wools  ;  and  I  think  more  slowly  recovers  its  maximum  of  oiliness, 
after  being  washed  on  the  back. 

The  overgrown  animals  of  a  variety,  are  rarely  of  good  form.  Hence 
not  a  few  of  the  imported  French  sheep,  atd  their  immediate  descen- 
dants, when  denuded  of  their  fleeces,  were  most  unsightly,  scraggy, 
"  lathy '  animals,  excessively  bony,  crooked  in  the  back,  bad  in  the  cross, 
(that  is,  hollow  behind  the  shoulders,)  and  so  thin  in  the  chest,  that  both 
forelegs  seemed,  in  horseman's  phrase,  to  "  come  out  at  the  same  hole." 
The  last  defect  is  perhaps  rather  characteristic  of  the  variety ;  but  I  have 
seen  not  only  individuals,  but  flocks  of  French  sheep,  of  moderate  size,  aa 
well  formed  in  every  other  particular,  and  perhaps  even  in  that,  as  any 
other  family  cf  Merinos. 


312  SHEEP   HUSBANDS Y   IN   TEXAS. 

Another  difficulty  followed  the  selection  of  these  huge  sheep.  Over- 
grown parents  do  not  always  produce  overgrown  offspring ;  but  the 
marcel  must  be  kept  up,  and  to  do  this,  a  concealed,  or  at  least  an  un- 
avowed  course  of  pampering  was  resorted  to  in  some  cases.  The  lambs 
were  dropped  two  months  before  the  usual  time  of  having  lambs  dropped 
in  the  North — the  ewes  were  stuffed  with  unusual  and  succulent  food 
during  the  winter,  regardless  of  cost ;  they  were  kept  in  close,  warm 
stables  at  yeaning  time ;  the  lamb  was  often  given  the  aid  of  a  "  sucking- 
bottle,"  or  a  foster-dam,  in  addition  to  its  natural  parent ;  it  was  taught 
as  soon  as  possible  to  eat  roots  and  grain ;  it  was  kept  housed  from  every 
storm,  and  even  from  the  dews  of  the  night,  during  the  entire  year. 
This  added  greatly  to  the  beauty  and  weight  of  the  wool — to  its  weight, 
Cwhen  sheared  unwashed,)  because  none  of  its  natural  oft  was  washed  out 
by  rains.  When  at  length  it  was  exhibited,  without  any  explanations  of 
the  preceding  facts,  at  some  State  fair,  in  autumn,  it  presented  about 
.twice  the  size  of  carcass,  and  twice  the  length  of  wool,  that  it  would 
Lave  done  if  dropped  at  the  common  time,  and  treated  in  the  common 
way.  If  not  sold  at  a  year  old,  it  was  not  sheared,  and  the  entire  fleece 
was  left  growing  to  increase  the  marvellous  product  at  two  years  old ;  or 
if  it  was  feared  that  this  fraud  would  be  too  apparent,  (beyond  the  gulli 
bility  of  the  particular  market  in  view,)  the  yearling  was  "  stubble- 
sheared,"  that  is,  shared  a  half-inch  or  inch  from  the  skin,  leaving  three 
or  four  months'  growth  of  wool  thereon,  to  go  into  the  next  fleece.  I  do 
not  say,  that  the  breeder  is  not  authorized  to  conduct  his  business  to  suit 
himself — men  clearly  have  the  right  to  pamper,  and  to  manufacture 
"  marvels."  But  he  who  does  so,  is  bound  to  give  warning,  "  fair  and 
true,"  to  the  buyer,  whether  questioned  or  unquestioned. 

Helas !  what  was  so  soon  the  matter  with  those  gigantic  French  rams, 
which  first  scattered  like  wild-fire  over  the  North?  There  came  a  chilly 
rain-storm,  and  they  sneezed  and  coughed.  Soon  they  began  to  mope, 
and  fall  off  from  their  feed.  They  grew  thin,  and  then  weak.  Their 
heads  drooped ;  yellow  waxy  matter  collected  about  their  dim,  half-closed 
eyes;  a  sticky  discharge  clung  about  their  nostrils;  at  length  the  faint 
but  rapid  heaving  of  the  flanks  began  to  indicate  a  low  fever.  Then  an- 
other heavy  cold  shower,  and  the  farmer's  boys  presently  ran  into  the 
house,  crying :  "  Father,  father,  the  great  ram  is  dead !"  The  farmer 
had  not  known  that  he  had  set  a  hothouse  plant  out  of  doors!  Thus 
"  departed  this  life,"  a  majority — ay,  a  majority — of  the  first  inundation 
of  great  French  rams — many  of  them  without  getting  a  lamb.  When 
they  lived,  it  often  proved  a  greater  disaster  to  their  owners.  They 
spoiled  the  carcass  and  constitution  of  his  flock,  lowered  the  quality  of 
his  wool,  and  not  unfrequently  actually  diminished  its  quantity. 

These  circumstances  created  a  violent  reaction  against  French  sheep, 
and  I  should  say,  between  eighty  and  ninety  per  cent,  of  our  best  North- 
ern and  Eastern  wool-growers  now  thoroughly  detest  them.  I  believe 
they  have  jumped  off  the  bridge  "  on  the  other  side !"  Circumstances 
led  me  into  an  extensive  course  of  fresh  investigations  on  this  subject  last 
winter.  I  found  French,  like  other  sheep-raisers,  divided  in  about  the 
usual  proportion,  between  quacks  and  legitimate  breeders.  I  found 
French  Merino  flocks,  and  especially  very  high-bred  grade  French  flocks, 
based  on  an  American  Merino  foundation  on  the  maternal  side,  which 
exhibited  fine  forms,  sufficiently  rugged  constitution,0,  a  good  quality  and 
large  quantity  of  wool.  If  the  wool  lacked  a  little  of  the  gloss  and  style 
of  the  choi<  e  American  Merinos,  it  nevertheless  r?as  a  desirable  article. 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  TEXAS.  31e 

and  especially  so  for  the  manufacturer,  on  account  of  its  cleanness.  Per- 
haps, after  my  preceding  remarks,  justice  requires  me  to  add  that  I  found 
breeders  raising  the  very  largest  French  sheep  with  undeniably  legitimate 
objects.  They  considered  that  great  size  desirable,  and  were  therefore 
(erroneously  and  unavailingly,  in  my  opinion)  attempting  to  perpetuate 
lit  without  perpetuating  its  usual  accompanying  defects. 

The  careful  and  certainly  disinterested  examination  of  many  flocks, 
which  had  been  judiciously  bred  for  a  number  of  yetirs,  and  down  to  the 
present  epoch,  somewhat  modified,  I  confess,  my  own  previous  views.  I 
believe  indeed,  I  found  hardier  and  every  way  better  sheep  than  the 
French  stock  first  brought  into  our  country.  I  made  up  my  mind,  that 
the  prejudice  against  them  was  violent  and  excessive,  and  that  by  and  by 
another  reaction  will  set  in  their  favor,  and  that  they  will  be  extensively 
used  for  an  object  which  I  shall  treat  under  another  head. 

THE  AMERICAN  MEEINO. — About  the  same  amount  of  fraud  and  de- 
ception attended  the  introduction  of  the  Spanish  Merino  into  the  United 
States,  (after  Livingston,  Humphreys,  Jarvis,  and  a  few  other  elevated 
men  had  done  their  part,)  that  heralded  the  advent  of  the  Saxon  and 
French  varieties.  Like  the  French,  the  former  sunk  into  contempv. 
before  it  received  the  general  approbation  of  the  country.  And  it  en- 
countered a  far  more  dangerous  foe  than  contempt,  in  an  almost  universal 
admixture  with  the  puny  Saxons.  But  a  remnant  was  fortunately  kept 
pure,  and  many  flock-masters,  after  a  Saxon  cross,  bred  back  to  their  pre- 
vious Merino  standard. 

The  American  Merino  of  the  present  day  is  a  considerably  heavier  and 
stronger  animal  than  his  Spanish  progenitor.  He  has  been  kept  in 
smaller  flocks  than  in  Spain,  better  fed,  (or  more  uniformly  fed,)  and 
subjected  to  a  more  careful  and  intelligent  system  of  breeding.  As  long 
ago  as  1841,  the  celebrated  early  importer  and  subsequent  breeder,  Hon. 
William  Jarvis,  of  Vermont,  wrote  me  that  "  twenty-five  years'  experi- 
ence satisfied  him  that  the  wool  of  the  Spanish  Merino  had  rather  im- 
proved "  in  this  country  ;  that  his  own  wool  was  better  than  the  samples 
received  from  Spain,  when  he  purchased  his  imported  flock.  (The  whole 
of  this  admirable  letter  will  be  found  in  the  N.  Y.  Agricultural  Society's 
Transactions,  1841,  pages  320-328.)  The  same  kind  of  improvement  has 
continued  down  to  the  present  time,  in  many  flocks. 

The  different  Spanish  varieties  were,  as  a  general  thin^,  soon  inter- 
mingled with  each  other  in  this  country,  as  they  had  been  in  France,  so 
that  the  names  of  Paular,  Negretti,  Gaudeloupe,  etc.,  now  have  no  mean- 
ing, unless  in  a  very  few  instances,  when  applied  to  American  sheep.  But 
in  point  of  fact,  the  same  varieties,  or  somewhat  analogous  ones,  have 
been  reproduced  in  our  country  by  the  systems  of  breeding  pursued  by 
particular  persons.  Some  men,  for  example,  have  carefully  shunned 
u  oil "  and  "gum,"  and  made  fineness  of  wool  the  primary  consideration. 
These  have  substantially  reproduced  the  Spanish  Escurial,  a  sheep  closely 
resembling  the  Saxon,  except  in  its  larger  size.  Others  have  made 
weight  of  fleece  the  primary  consideration,  at  some  sacrifice  of  fineness ; 
and  to  this  end  they  have  bred  as  much  oil  into,  and  external  gum  upon 
the  fleece,  as  practicable.  The  extreme  of  these  sheep  become  coated 
over  a  few  months  after  shearing,  with  a  natural  covering  of  gum  of  the 
color  of  tar,  extending  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  into  the  wool,  which 
in  warm  weather  sticks  to  the  hand,  and  in  cold  becomes  a  hard  rigid 
crust.  The  interior  of  the  fleeco  looks  as  if  oil  had  been  poured  into  it, 
as  it  exists  there  not  merely  as  a  coating  of  each  filament  of  wool,  but 


314  SHEEP   HUSBANDRY   IN   TEXAS. 


rather  wears  the  appearance  of  a  mass  of  oil,  with  filaments  of  wool 
growing  out  through  it. 

Some  breeders  take  a  middle  course,  cultivating  the  oil,  but  avoiding 
;he  gum.  Some  cultivate  a  medium  share  of  both  ;  and  so  on. 

The  well-bred  American  Merino  is  probably  now  the  densest  and 
heaviest-fleeced  sheep  of  its  size  in  the  world,  without  the  help  of  any 
extraneous  circumstances ;  but  when  you  read  of  the  enormous  fleeces 
you  sometimes  do,  (whether  they  belong  to  H.  S.  K.  or  A.  B.  C.,)  it  is 
time  that  you,  and  all  other  intelligent  men,  understand  that  this  enor- 
mous extra  weight  is  made  up  of  oil  and  gum.  In  the  first  place,  wool 
of  this  character  can  not,  at  best,  be  well  washed  on  the  back  of  the 
sheep.  In  the  second,  many  breeders  do  not  desire  to  so  wash  it ;  they 
choose  to  leave  these  heavy  animal  excretions  in  the  wool,  and  they  le*t 
their  flocks  run  long  enough  between  washing  and  shearing,  to  restore  all 
that  has  been  washed  away.  In  fact,  washing  with  them,  is  little  better 
than  a  name,  a  pretence,  to  prevent  the  buyer  from  deducting  the  usual 
one-third  from  the  gross  weight,  as  on  unwashed  wool.  Then,  further  to 
mislead  the  purchaser,  they  do  up  each  fleece  in  two  parts — claiming  that 
if  that  personage  sees  fit  to  judge  the  wool  solely  by  weight  of  fleece, 
instead  of  quality  and  condition,  (as  he  often  does,)  it  is  but  a  fair  retalia- 
tion, a  warrantable  "  spoiling  of  the  Philistines,"  to  take  a  course  which 
will  compel  him  to  judge  the  article  by  legitimate  tests,  or  to  suifer  the  con- 
sequences. (That  is  to  say,  they  assume  that  if  the  buyer  is  a  blockhead, 
or  screw,  it  is  right  to  cheat  him,  if  it  can  be  done  by  silence.) 

These  excessively  oily  and  gummy  sheep  are  rather  "  the  rage  "  at 
present  in  the  North.  There  are  two  reasons  for  it.  The  wool-buyer 
has  obstinately  refused  to  make  any  proportionate  difference  in  the  price- 
paid  for  their  wool  and  that  paid  for  cleaner  wools.  He  will  usually  pay 
within  three  or  four  cents  per  pound,  as  much  for  the  first  as  for  the  last, 
when  the  "greasy"  wool  weighs  two  pounds  most  to  the  fleece,  when  it 
costs  no  more  to  raise  it,  and  when  it  will  lose  twenty-five  per  cent,  more  in 
cleansing.  The  manufacturers  could  have  corrected  this  evil,  if  they  had 
chosen  to  do  so ;  and  a  class  of  sham-hating  men  have  continued  to  breed 
clean  wools,  expecting  them  ultimately  to  do  justice  in  the  matter.  But 
indifference,  or  the  temptation  to  force  these  breeders  to  sell  (or  sacrifice) 
their  beautiful  clips  at  two  or  three  pennies  above  the  price  of  "  greasy  " 
wool,  has  generally  triumphed  over  all  more  manly  considerations,  though 
in  regions  where  clean  wools  are  extensively  grown,  and  where  the  breed- 
ers can  and  will  stand  by  each  other,  they  have  fared  better. 

The  other  reason  for  the  popularity  of  excessively  oily  and  gummy 
sheep,  exists  in  the  fact  that  they  generally  sell  better  to  those  beginners 
who  are  willing  to  pay  breeders'  prices.  The  first  thing  in  a  variety  or 
breed,  which  attracts  the  eye  of  a  novice,  is  its  salient  peculiarities — 
whether  they  involve  valuable  characteristics  or  the  contrary;  and  they 
are  very  apt  to  become  his  standards  of  purity  of  blood  arid  individual 
excellence,  until  experience  has  taught  him  better.  The  Merino,  com- 
pared with  others,  is  an  oily  and  gummy  sheep,  and  "  argal,"  the  more 
oil  and  gum  he  possesses,  the  "  more  Merino  "  is  he  to  the  novice.  The 
same  remarks  apply  to  "  throatiness  " — large  corrugations  or  folds  of  pen- 
dulous skin  about  the  neck  or  throat,  and  similar  folds  on  other  parts  of 
the  body. 

Breeders  defer  more  or  less  to  the  tastes  of  buyers,  and  thus  more 
"  grease  and  wrinkles  "  are  prbduced  than  would  otherwise  be.  A  pet* 
tier  personage — your  nomadic  ram  peddler — carries  his  complaisance  still 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  TEXAS.  115 

further.  He  'manufactures  traits  or  peculiarities  to  please  purchasers! 
He  buys  up  half  or  three-quarter  bred  Merinos,  which  chanc.e  to  have 
abundance  of  "  wrinkles,"  (the  mongrel  get  of  a  very  "wrinkly"  ram 
often  show  this  peculiarity  quite  as  strongly  as  Ins  full-blood  descend- 
ants,) and  if  the  natural  gum  is  wanting,  he  puts  it  on  by  daubing  them 
over,  immediately  after  shearing,  with  a  pigment  of  linseed  oil  and  burnt 
amber — a  composition  known  in  the  North  as  the  "Cornwall  finish," 
from  the  fact  that  it  was  first  used  (as  a  winter  protection  to  sheep  I  pre- 
sume) in  Cornwall,  Vermont.  It  soon  makes  a  nearly  black  external 
coating,  so  similar  to  the  natural  gum  as  to  be  entirely  undistinguishable 
from  it,  except  to  a  very  practised  eye.  I  should  say,  however,  that  it 
was  usually  a  little  more  evenly  put  on,  and  a  shade  handsomer,  than  the 
natural  article  !  A  second  good  oiling,  with  clear  oil,  towards  fall,  helps 
along.  Armed  with  these  painted  mongrels,  a  demure  face,  and  a  cer- 
tificate of  pedigree,  purporting  to  be  signed  by  a  "Deacon,"  and  a  "  Judge 
of  Probate,"  your  ram-peddler  sallies  forth,  Macedonian-like,  conquering 
and  to  conquer — greenhorns  ! 

THE  BEST  BREED  FOE  TEXAS. — In  the  views  I  shall  express  under  this 
head,  I  desire  neither  to  advance  nor  to  injure  the  interests  of  any  indi- 
vidual— certainly  to  wound  no  man's  feelings.  But  if  I  speak  at  all,  of 
course  I  am  called  upon  to  express  those  candid  convictions,  for  which  I 
am  willing  to  be  held  responsible. 

I  am  free  to  say,  on  the  start,  that  I  believe  there  is  altogether  too 
much  one-sidedness  in  the  views  entertained  by  individuals,  and  the  pub- 
lic, in  regard  to  this  and  other  analogous  questions.  The  current  sets  in 
some  particular  direction,  and  then  all  influenced  by  conviction,  or  the 
desire  to  take  advantage  of  other  people's  convictions,  jump  into  it  irre- 
spective of  circumstances. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  every  variety  of  the  true  wool-growing  sheep, 
the  Merino,  has  an  appropriate  and  profitable  place.  As  long  as  costly 
woollen  fabrics  are  demanded  by  the  wealthy  and  luxurious,  the  delicate 
Saxon  sheep  is  a  want  in  agriculture.  The  Silesian  supplies  the  next 
want,  and  so  on  down.  If  the  production  is  accurately  proportioned  to 
the  consumption,  the  laws  of  trade  declare  that  all  these  breeds  must  be 
profitable,  (and  something  like  equally  profitable,)  under  the  best  circum- 
stances, for  their  respective  cultivation. 

I  desire  to  make  another  statement.  In  spite  of  all  the  pretences  and 
quackeries  of  rival  breeders,  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  best  animals  of  each 
of  these  varieties,  produce  about  the  same  value  (not  amount)  of  wool 
for  the  amount  of  food  consumed.  Some,  however,  require  more  human 
labor  and  supervision  than  others,  some  demand  milder  climate  than 
others,  and  so  on. 

The  time  may  very  probably  come  when  each  of  the  Merino  families 
will  be  profitably  grown  almost  side  by  side,  in  Texas.  Your  climate  is 
as  mild  as  the  feeblest-constitutioned'  ones  can  elsewhere  find.  The  extra 
labor  demanded  for  the  supervision  of  such,  ought  to  be  as  cheap  with 
you  as  in  other  portions  of  the  United  States.  You  have  abundant  suste- 
nance for  the  strongest  fine-wool  breeds.  And  who  can  say  that  when 
YOU  have  railroads  covered  with  cattle  and  sheep-cars,  that  you  can  not 
supply  the  mutton  eaten  in  our  Atlantic  cities,  more  cheaply  than  it  can 
be  grown  nearer  to  them,  and  that  it  may  not  thus  be  made  profitable  to 
you  to  grow  coai-se  as  well  as  fine  wools  ? 

At  present,  fine  wools  pay  best  in  the  United  States  ;  and  among  these 
m  Bdium  qualities  find  the  most  extensive  demand  and  the  most  remuner 


316  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY   IN   TEXAS. 

ating  prices.  This  class  of  wool  is  borne  both  by  the  American  and 
French  Merino. 

As  a  pioneer  and  experimental  sheep,  you  want  the  hardiest  variety — 
one  capable  of  resisting  a  change  of  climate  and  circumstances,  general  or 
local  difficulties  in  the  way  of  acclimation,  and  the  effects  of  inexperienced 
management.  As  a  distinct  variety,  there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt, 
I  think,  that  the  pure  American  Merino  is  better  able  to  **•  rough  it "  in  a 
new  country  than  the  pure  French  Merino,  though  I  appr.ehend  the  latter 
will  ultimately  do  well  enough  in  your  mild  climate.  ~No  person  ac- 
quainted with  both  breeds  will  hesitate  to  believe,  that  in  a  summer 
drouth,  or  during  a  severe  winter  scarcity,  the  former  will  suffer  less 
than  the  latter — as  much  less  as  black  cattle  would  suffer,  under  like  cir 
cumstances,  than  the  larger  Shorthorns.  The  impression  is  also  univer- 
sal, and  certainly  every  appearance  and  analogy  would  seem  to  favor  it, 
that  the  American  Merino  will  herd  best  in  very  large  numbers. 

But  it  is  not  necessary  that  you  limit  yourselves  exclusively  to  one 
variety.  He  who  wants  to  grow  very  large  wethers  for  plantation  use, 
or  for  sale,  or  he  who  wishes  to  grow  a  larger  fine-woolled  sheep  as  a 
matter  of  taste,  and  is  prepared  to  take  care  of  them,  wifl  find  his  wishes 
met  by  the  French  sheep ;  or  if  wethers  weighing  from  150  Ibs.  to  200  Ibs., 
and  ewes  weighing  from  120  Ibs.  to  140  Ibs.,  are  large  enough  for  him,  he 
can  get  them  by  a  cross  between  the  French  and  American  varieties. 

These  last,  if  well  bred,  compose  a  beautiful  and  hardy  sub-variety.  I 
bought  a  flock  of  them,  last  winter,  mostly  French,  which  were  dropped 
in  May,  1858.  They  were  kept  in  the  common  way,  without  pampering. 
They  were  thoroughly  washed  and  sheared  at  the  common  time,  about 
the  close  of  June,  1859.  Their  wool  was  destitute  of  gum,  about  as  white 
at  the  outer  as  inner  end,  and  seemingly  almost  as  free  from  oil  as  cot- 
ton. They  averaged  six  pounds  and  four  ounces  of  wool  per  head.  I  be- 
lieve that  a  cross  between  such  ewes  and  a  very  heavy  and  "  greasy  " 
fleeced  American  Merino  ram,  would  carry  the  average  a  pound  higher 
in  the  produce.  I  am  so  confident  of  this,  that  I  am  availing  myself  of 
the  results  of  such  a  cross  on  a  comprehensive  scale.  The  ewes  are  un- 
commonly fine-woolled  of  their  kind.  The  ram  used  weighs  but  150  Ibs. 
in  full  fleece,  -and  his  washed  fleece  (as  well  as  it  could  be  washed) 
weighed  14  Ibs.  Of  course  he  was  excessively  oily  and  gummy,  and  it 
was  for  that  very  reason  he  was  selected  for  the  experiment.  His  lambs, 
two  months  after  birth,  began  to  be  colored  very  perceptibly  by  the  oil 
inherited  from  their  sire. 

It  is  legitimate  in  breeding,  to  counteract  one  defect  with  another.  I 
have  noticed  for  twenty-five  years  that  the  oiliest  and  gummiest  Merino 
ranis  cross  best  with  the  dry  coarse-woolled  varieties.  I  have  recently 
noticed  that  the  cross  between  the  French  ram  and  such  varieties  rarely 
results  very  satisfactorily.  There  is  another  reason  for  this.  Where  the 
size  of  the  male  is  greatly  disproportioned  to  that  of  the  female,  the  un- 
born lamb  has  not  room  to  expand  in  the  womb,  and  it  is  born  crooked 
and  unshapely — generally  thin-chested  and  flat-ribbed.  Hence"  I  entirely 
prefer  the  cross  between  the  French  ewe  and  American  Merino  ram  to 
the  one  made  conversely. 

Am  I  asked  at  this  point,  if  it  is  legitimate  to  breed  extraneous  sub- 
stances, like  oil  and  gum,  and  sell  them  for  wool  ?  Certainly  not.  On 
the  other  hand,  is  it  legitimate  for  the  wool  buyer  and  manufacturer  to 
make  no  fair  distinction  between  clean  and  dirty  wool  ?  He  who  sells 
"greasy"  woals  in  broad  daylight,  without  splitting  his  fleeces  or  resort- 


SHEEP   HUSBANDRY   IN   TEXAS.  317 

ing  to  any  other  trick,  at  leasts  commits  no  fraud !  On  the  whole,  1 
would  push  towards  neither  extreme.  In  your  climate,  I  think  you  will 
have  to  obtain  pretty  dark-colored  and  oily  rams  to  keep  up  the  proper 
medium  in  that  particular  in  your  full-blood  American  Merino  flocks,  and 
still  oilier  and  darker  ones,  to  produce  that  medium  in  a  cross  with  coarse 
8heep. 

The  wool  of  the  French  crosses  I  'have  described  was  a  shade  coarser 
and  a  shade  lest  "  stylish"  than  fair  American  Merino  wool.  But  the 
difference  in  cleanness  was  in  its  favor,  and  the  difference  in  fineness  was 
so  little  against  it,  that  every  lot  I  mentioned  sold,  or  could  have  been 
sold  separately,  in  July,  for  forty-four  or  forty-five  cents  -a  pound.  An 
intelligent  breeder  of  these,  and  of  French  full-bloods,  candidily  admitted 
to  me  last  winter,  that  he  considered  the  former  worth  quite  as  much  as 
the  latter  for  wool-growing.  Under  common  care,  and  exposed  to  any 
disadvantages,  I  think  they  would  prove  most  profitable.  And  such  a 
cross  would  promptly  give  additional  weight  of  fleece,  and  especially 
size,  to  American  Merino  flocks  deficient  in  either  particular.  But  the 
cross  must  always  be  well  made  not  to  result  in  failure. 

SELECTION  OF  SHEEP — The  points  of  a  good  Merino's  carcass  are, 
good  but  not  extraordinary  size  for  the  variety,  the  barrel  well  rounded, 
the  chest  deep,  the  cross  full,  the  back  level  forward  of  the  hips,  the  loin 
and  buttocks  comparatively  wide,  the  flank  and  twist  well  let  down,  the 
neck  round  and  set  on  level  with  the  shoulders,  the  head  fine  but  broad 
between  the  cars,  the  eye  lively  and  mild,  the  legs  straight  and  moderate- 
ly long,  the  whole  figure  wearing  a  marked  appearance  of  compactness 
and  solidity. 

The  degree  of  throatiness  is  rather  a  matter  of  taste.  It  is  a  great  im- 
pediment to  smooth  and  rapid  shearing ;  but  as  a  badge  of  blood,  and  as 
an  indication  of  that  loose,  large  skin  which  is  a  characteristic  mark  and 
valuable  property  of  the  highbred  Merino,  (and  which  is  often  found 
without  throatiness,)  it  is  liked  to  a  reasonable  extent  by  most  breeders. 
The  skin  should  be  of  SL  fresh  pink  color — not  dead  white,  and  especially 
not  tawny. 

The  wool  of  the  Merino  should  be  compact  at  all  hazards,  and  of  as 
great  length  as  can  be  found  united  with  compactness.  It  should  open 
with  some  appreciable  resistance  to  the  hand,  not  drop  apart  at  the  touch, 
like  the  fur  of  furbearing  animals.  The  pile,  in  addition  to  its  fineness, 
should  be  finely  and  regularly  crimped  from  one  extremity  to  the  other. 
This  is  an  important  indication  of  quality,  and  in  the  case  of  the  American 
Merino,  of  blood.  The  pure  French  sheep  does  not  so  perfectly  or  so 
uniformly  exhibit  it.  The  interior  of  the  wool  (after  it  has  gained  length 
subsequently  to  shearing)  should  be  brilliantly  glossy,  and  when  properly 
opened  by  the  hand,  every  spire  of  its  crimped  filaments  should  seem  to 
be  moving,  as  if  instinct  with  life.  This  last  appearance  (of  which  I  can 
give  no  definite  idea  on  paper)  is  the  highest  possible  indication  of  good 
breeding.  A  dry,  lustreless  appearance,  especially  a  dead  appearance,  ia 
very  objectionable.  If,  in  addition  to  this,  the  wool  is  destitute  of  crimp, 
it  is  wholly  inferior.  Except  near  the  outer  end,  wool  should  be  white, 
or  of  a  faint  golden  tinge.  If  saffron-colored  near  the  skin,  it  is  "  yellow- 
ed," (by  some  abnormal  secretion,)  and  injured  for  sale.  Slightly  brown- 
ish or  nankeen-colored  wools,  unless  so  stained  by  earths,  indicate  defec- 
tive breeding.  French  wools  are  oftener  of  this  color  than  those  of  any 
Other  family  of  the  Merino. 

The  gum  whhh  is  permitted  to  exist,  should  be  on  the  outer  extremity 


318  SHEEP   HUSBANDRY   IN  TEXAS. 

of  the  fleece,  not  scattered  through  it  in  small  yellow  particles  resem- 
bling bee-bread,  or  in  occasional  white  waxy  concretions.  The  former 
defect  is  commonest  in  the  American,  the  latter  in  the  French  Merino. 
Neither  of  them  appertain  to  the  Saxon.  The  oil  of  the  fleece  should 
appear  like  a  delicate  white  perfectly  transparent  varnish,  or  some  thinner 
fluid,  barely  coating  over  every  fibre  to  give  it  lustre.  As  already  said, 
it  is  objectionable  to  have  it  fill  up  the  interstices  of  the  wool,  as  if  it 
had  been  poured  in,  and  doubly  so  if  its  color  is  yellowish.  If  quite  yel- 
low and  viscid,  it  is  called  "  yolk." 

The  wool  of  the  Merino  should  closely  cover  every  wool-bearing  part. 
It  should  be  thick  and  long  on  the  belly  as  well  as  on  the  back,  and  the 
bare  spots  for  the  movements  of  the  legs,  etc.,  should  occupy  only  the 
surface  absolutely  necessary  for  that  purpose.  It  should  look,  when  its 
pelage  is  out  at  full  length,  like  a  bundle  of  wool  on  legs.  But  wool 
below  the  knees  and  hocks,  and  on  the  point  of  the  nose,  is  like  throati- 
ness,  one  of  those  "  fancy  points"  which  is  highly  valued  by  some,  and 
objected  to  by  others.  The  wool  on  these  parts  is  inferior,  and  trifling 
in  weight.  It  does  not,  as  novices  often  imagine,  specially  indicate  a 
heavy  fleece.  That  on  the  legs  gets  foul  with  mud  or  dug,  when  it  comes 
in  contact  with  it,  and  that  on  the  nose  often  so  impedes  the  sight,  that 
unless  it  is  sheared  away  two  or  three  times  a  year,  the  animal  can  see 
neither  forward  nor  backward,  nor  scarcely  sideways,  without  awkwardly 
twisting  about  its  head.  I  confess  I  rather  like  the  peculiarity ;  but  there 
can  be  no  doubt  it  would  be  undesirable  in  sheep  which  must  travel  and 
".look  out  for  themselves"  on  extensive  plains,  and  particularly  so,  if 
there  was  any  chance  of  their  being  attacked  by  dogs  or  beasts  of  prey. 

PRICE  OF  MERINOS. — I  shall  recur  to  this  subject,  because  the  inciden- 
tal discussion  which  has  taken  place  on  it,  in  your  paper,  renders  me 
desirous  to  submit  some  definite  and  tangible  statements.  I  therefore 
eay,  definitely  and  tangibly,  that  pure-blood  American  Merino  flocks  ot 
good  quality,  including  the  usual  admixture  of  all  ages  and  sexes,  up  to 
four  years  old,  can  be  bought  for  eight  dollars  a  head,  where  one  hundred 
are  taken  ;  for  ten  dollars  a  head,  where  fifty  taken ;  for  twelve  dollars 
a  head,  where  twenty-five  are  taken  ;  for  twenty-five  dollars  a  head,  where 
a  half-dozen  are  taken.  The  pure-bred  French  sheep  are  comparatively 
few,  and  though  unpopular  with  the  mass  of  wool-growers,  are  highly 
prized  by  their  breeders  on  account  of  their  salableness  in  new  regions. 
I  can  give  no  approach  to  a  uniform  price  on  them.  Good  high-bred 
French,  grades,  (a  cross  with  the  American  Merino)  resembling  full-blood 
French  can  be  bought  at  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  per  cent,  advance  on 
the  price  of  American  Merinos. 

Mongrel  American  Merinos — not  unfrequently  denominated  "  full- 
bloods,"  by  sheep-growers  who  have  no  record  of  pedigree,  oftentimes 
no  distinct  conception  of  what  constitutes  a  pedigree— can  be  purchased 
in  nearly  all  the  Northern  and  Middle  States,  at  .from  two  to  four  dollars 
a  head,  according  to  the  prevailing  market  prices  of  sheep  at  the  time. 
Most  of  them  are  a  cross  between  the  Saxon  and  "  Native"  sheep,  with  a 
later  infusion  of  Merino  blood.  Where  the  Saxon  admixture  was  strong, 
these  sheep  are  often  as  fine  as  pure-blood  Merinos.  But  their  fleeces  are 
lighter;  their  constitutions  much  less  vigorous;  and  like  all  mongrels 
made  up  between  distinct  races,  they  are  lacking  in  uniformity. 

COST  OF  IMPORTATION. — There  are  three  ways  of  getting  sheep  from 
the  Northern  States  to  Texas — by  the  Ocean  and  Mississppi  River  routes, 
and  bytb?  land  route.  Where  time  is  no  object,  and  the  number  of 


SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  IN   TEXAS.  319 

sheep  to  be  faken  large,  the  latter  is  by  far  the  cheapest.  Freights  from 
New- York  City  to  Galveston,  in  ship-houses,  (water  found,)  will  average 
about  three  dollars  per  head  at  proper  seasons  of  the  year.  When 
enough  are  sent  to  fill  a  ship-house,  the  usual  cost  is  two  dollars  a  head. 
The  cost  of  arranging  ship-house,  keep,  and  attendance  on  the  passage  is 
then  to  be  added.  It  should  not  exceed  two  dollars  per  head.  Under 
proper  arrangements,  the  passage  is  as  safe  as  that  of  the  human  passen- 
ger of  the  vessel. 

CROSSING  WITH  COARSE  SHEEP. — It  may  be  laid  down  as  a  settled 
rule,  that  the  Merino  can  be  improved,  as  wool-producing  sheep  by  a 
cross  with  no  other  breed  whatever.  All  legitimate  crossing,  for  that 
object,  is  confined  to  the  several  varieties  of  its  owrn  breed.  Secondly, 
there  is  no  other  breed  the  quality  and  quantity  of  whose  wool  is  not  im- 
proved by  a  Merino  cross.  It  is  a  matter  of  economy  first  to  stock  an 
extensive  wool  estancia  with  coarse,  cheap  breeds  of  sheep.  Any  thing, 
from  English  long-\vools  down  to  the  puny,  miserable  Mexican  sheep,  can 
be  used ;  and  with  well-selected  rams,  (medium-sized,  compact,  oily, 
gummy,  and  heavy-fleeced  American  Merinos,)  the  rapidity  of  the  im- 
provement will  appear  almost  miraculous  to  inexperienced  persons.  In 
selecting  the  coarse  sheep,  the  carcass  is  of  vastly  more  importance  than 
the  fleece,  and  hence  the  Mexicans  are  the  least  valuable.  But  even  they 
are  preferable  to  nothing. 

Kone  but  the  full-blood  Merino  ram  should  be  used  under  any  circum- 
stances. A  different  course  would,  at  best,  lead  to  a  retardation  of  the 
desired  improvement,  of  more  amount  than  many  times  the  cost  of  tho 
necessary  full-blood  rams ;  and  the  degree  and  kind  of  improvement 
would  become  wholly  a  matter  of  uncertainty. 

Every  breeder  whose  means  admit  of  it,  will  do  well  also  to  start  with 
a  more  limited  flock  of  full-blood  ewes.  They  constitute  the  foundation 
of  a  future  pure  flock,  and  are  the  nursery  to  draw  rams  from,  without 
the  expense  of  resorting  to  new  purchases  every  two  or  three  years.  To 
meet  this  latter  object,  the  ewes  and  rams  originally  imported  should  be 
of  different  strains  of  blood,  and  so  marked  as  to  be  readily  distinguish- 
able from  each  other.  All  extensive  breeders  should  keep  two  or  three 
separate  strains  of  blood,  for  the  convenience  of  purchasers. 

MISCELLANEOUS  SUGGESTIONS. — Every  new  breeder  should  start  with 
an  established  system  of  marks  which  will  at  once  point  out  to  him  the 
blood  of  the  particular  animal.  The  brands  may  be  cut  out  of  wood,  or 
constructed  of  iron,  and  they  are  dipped  in  some  pigment  and  applied  to 
the  sheep  (to  prevent  mistakes)  as  soon  as  it  is  sheared.  On  one  side 
stamp  the  owner's  initials,  on  the  other  a  cross,  a  circle,  a  triangle,  or  the 
like,  (  or  a  combination  of  these  marks,)  to  indicate  the  precise  family. 

Every  sheep  of  inferior  carcass  of  fleece,  should  receive  a  mark  at 
shearing,  which  indicates  that  it  is  to  be  killed  or  sold. 

On  the  subject  of  winter  shelter  and  keep,  I  shall  here  offer  nothing. 
In  this  particular,  experience  is  the  only  guide. 

But  I  repeat  my  former  adjuration,  to  keep  down  the  dogs — that  curse 
of  sheep-raising  in  Virginia,  the  Carolinas,  etc.,  which  is  more  fatal  than 
all  others,  and  which  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  get  rid  of,  where  it  has 
once  got  a  firm  footing. 

Yours  truly  and  sincerely,  HENRY  S.  RANDALL. 

Cortland  Village,  New-  York,  Aug.  12,  1859. 


S20  SHEEP   RAISING   IN   TEXAS. 

SHEEP  RAISING   IN  TEXAS. 

BY  GEORGE  W.  KENDALL,  ESQ. 

On  commencing  a  third  article  on  "  Sheep  Raising  in  Texas," 
my  experience  for  another  year,  or  since  September,  1858,  I  find  that  I 
have  but  a  repetition  of  the  same  old  story  to  offer  the  many  readers  of 
your  valuable  almanac ;  my  good  fortune  has  continued  without  an  inter 
ruption,  and  my  losses  amount  to  next  to  nothing.  My  flocks  have  all 
been  extremely  healthy,  and  in  the  best  possible  condition,  while  the  few 
losses  I  have  sustained,  (not  one  per  cent,  probably,)  have  mostly  resulted 
from  casualty  or  accident  of  some  kind ;  no  disease  has  visited  my  folds. 
You  may  recollect,  that  I  last  year  said  that  I  could  not  hope  for  a  con- 
tinuance of  such  good  luck  or  fortune  as  had  followed  me  through  the 
years  '56-7  and  a  part  of  '58 ;  it  has  continued  up  to  this  1st  of  August, 
1859,  and  my  sheep  are  now  in  finer  order  than  I  have  ever  before  seen 
them. 

In  the  fall  and  early  winter  of  1858,  or  during  the  months  of  October, 
November,  and  December,  I  felt  not  a  little  uneasy  about  the  effect  of 
the  acorns,  of  which  we  had  a  most  abundant  crop  in  the  mountains.  I 
had  read  in  one  book  that  they  were  hurtful  to  sheep  ;  I  had  been  told, 
by  those  who  pretended  to  know,  that  their  effect  would  certainly  be 
injurious.  To  keep  my  flocks  away  from  them  was  entirely  out  of  the 
question  ;  within  a  hundred  yards  of  the  pens  where  they  were  nightly 
kept,  and  in  almost  every  direction,  they  must  enter  an  oak  range  when 
turned  out  in  the  morning,  every  tree  loaded  heavily  with  acorns.  The 
sheep  devoured  them  with  avidity,  would  run  from  tree  to  tree  in  the 
morning  searching  for  such  as  had  dropped  fresh  during  the  night,  and 
this  continued  until  the  heaviest  mast  we  have  had  in  many  years  was 
exhausted.  What  with  the  grass  they  cropped  meanwhile,  (and  it  was 
noticed  that  each  day  the  sheep  would  graze  for  hours,)  they  would  come 
home  to  their  pens  at  night  well  filled.  And  all  this  time  the  flocks  were 
bright,  healthy,  and  never  in  better  condition,  thus  proving  past  all  doubt, 
that  acorns,  instead  of  being  injurious  to  sheep,  are  a  positive  benefit, 
and  hereafter  the  heavier  the  mast  may  be  at  my  place,  the  better  I  shall 
like  it. 

In  April  last,  at  shearing  time,  I  smeared  the  noses  of  my  sheep,  and 
especially  the  lambs,  bountifully  with  tar,  and  so  far  they  have  not  been 
troubled  at  all  with  grub  in  the  head.  Last  year,  it  may  be  remembered, 
I  lost  a  few  lambs  from  this  cause ;  the  tar  certainly  can  do  no  harm, 
costs  but  a  trifle,  and  I  believe  is  beneficial  during  the  spring  and  early 
summer  months. 

About  the  15th  of  August,  1858, 1  weaned  my  lambs,  over  eleven  hun- 
dred in  number,  all  on  the  same  morning  :  as  nearly  all  were  dropped  in 
the  month  of  April  preceding,  they  were  then  about  four  months  old. 
The  Merino  buck  lambs  I  turned  into  my  regular  wether  flock,  where  I  keep 
all  my  bucks  save  during  the  short  tupping  season  in  the  fall ;  the  ewe  and 
wether  lambs  I  have  kept  in  a  flock  by  themselves  up  to  this  time,  and 
all  have  grown  and  thriven  remarkably  well — far  better  than  when  the 
old  ewes  with  their  lambs  ran  together,  and  from  one  end  of  the  year  to 
the  other. 

Every  one  who  knows  anything  about  sheep  must  be  well  aware  that 


SHEEP   RAISING   IN  TEXAS.  321 

long  after  a  ewe  has  nearly  dried  up — when  she  gives  but  a  drop  of 
milk — the  lamb  will  hang  on  and  worry  her,  forty  times  a  day,  for  that 
drop.  It  does  the  latter  no  good-— -it  pulls  down  and  pesters  the  old 
ewes — in  short,  injures  both.  For  a  day  or  two  after  they  are  separated, 
of  course  there  will  be  a  terrible  outcry  and  clamor,  lambs  bleating  for 
their  mothers,  and  mothers  calling  for  their  lambs.  But  this  is  soon  over  ; 
both  soon  set  to  work  in  earnest  cropping  their  food,  they  have  the  entire 
day  to  fill  themselves,  and  my  experience  has  proved  that  both  commence 
fattening  within  a  week  after  the  weaning  is  over.  The  old  ewes  have  a 
chance  to  recruit  and  strengthen  themselves  before  frost  sets  in,  are  in 
finer  condition  for  the  bucks  in  November,  and  pass  through  the  winter 
in  far  better  order. 

I  know  that  where  a  person  has  but  a  single  flock  of  sheep,  and  that 
flock  small,  it  creates  an  additional  expense  to  separate  and  wean  the 
/ambs.  But  I  hold  that  anything  that  is  worth  doing  at  all  is  worth  doing 
well,  and  the  additional  expense  will  be  more  than  repaid  by  the  increased 
size,  strength,  condition,  and  constitution  of  the  flock. 

My  last  year's  ewe-lambs,  (those  dropped  in  the  spring  of  1858,)  I 
shall  put  to  buck  on  the  1st  of  the  coming  November,  or  when  they  are 
some  nineteen  months  old.  They  will  then  be  two  years  of  age  when 
they  have  lambs ;  and  I  am  confident  this  plan  is  much  better  than  the 
one  so  often  practised  in  Texas,  of  allowing  yearling  ewes  to  run  with 
bucks  and  have  lambs  before  they  have  attained  their  growth,  and  before 
they  are  well  able  to  sustain  their  offspring.  I  do  not  increase  my  stock 
so  fast  by  following  this  system ;  but  I  materially  improve  it,  both  in  size 
and  constitution,  and  that  is  what  I  am  constantly  striving  after.  We 
can  all  afford  to  be  patient  in  Texas. 

I  shall  have  some  two  thousand  ewes  to  put  to  buck  this  foil.  Of  these, 
about  one  hundred  and  thirty  are  full-blood  Merinoes,  which  I  shall  turn 
into  a  pasture  with  two  of  the  best  bucks  I  can  find,  on  20th  of  October. 
On  the  25th  of  the  same  month  I  shall  put  half  of  my  grade  ewes  to 
buck,  and  on  the  1st  of  November  the  balance.  For  six  weeks  only  will 
the  bucks  be  allowed  to  run  with  the  ewes ;  I  never  wish  to  see  a  lamb 
come  in  one  of  my  flocks  later  than  the  15th  of  May.  I  have  proved  to 
my  own  satisfaction,  that  a  lamb  dropped  on  1st  of  April,  when  the  grass 
is  young  and  fresh  and  the  days  comparatively  cool,  will  be  larger  and 
better  formed  the  day  it  is  three  months  old,  than  will  a  lamb  dropped  on 
the  1st  of  July,  when  the  grass  is  apt  to  be  coarse  and  dry,  and  the  days 
scorching  hot,  when  it  is  six  months  old  ;  and  the  former  will  turn  out  the 
best  sheep  in  every  respect.  Many  persons,  anxious  to  increase  the  num- 
ber of  their  flocks,  may  be  loath  to  believe  all  this,  but  let  them  try  both 
or  all  systems.  The  custom  of  allowing  bucks  to  run  with  the  ewes  the 
year  round,  and  having  lambs  come  twice  a  year,  or  during  every  month 
in  the  year,  I  cannot  but  believe  ruinous.  It  would  worry  me 'more  to 
see  a  buck  among  my  ewes  in  July,  August,  or  September,  or  in  Febru- 
ary, March,  or  April,  than  a  wolf:  the  latter  might  kill  half  a  dozen, 
and  there  end  ;  the  former  would  cost  me  more  real  loss  in  the  long  run. 

I  am  induced  to  give  this  statement  in  relation  to  my  system  because  I 
am  continually  receiving  letters  from  persons  just  starting  in  the  sheep 
business,  making  inquiries  on  the  subject.  I  do  not  say  that  I  am  right ; 
I  ask  no  one  to  follow  my  general  plan  of  management.  I  shall  change  it 
the  moment  I  hear  of  any  one  who  has  had  better  success  than  has 
befallen  me,  but  not  until  then. 

Tn  the  Texas  almanac  for  1859, 1  see  that  Thos.  Decrow,  Esq.,  after  an 


322  SHEEP  RAISING  IN   TEXAS. 

interesting  account  of  his  own  great  .success  in  sheep-raising  on  Mata- 
gorda  Bay,  sees  fit  to  disagree  with  me  in  my  estimate  of  the  necessity 
of  breeding  from  no  other  than  pure  Merino  bucks.  Now,  Mr.  Decrow 
may  be  right,  and  I  altogether  in  the  wrong ;  yet  his  argument  does  not 
convince  me  that  a  grade  buck,  which  is  perhaps  just  as  apt  to  breed 
back  as  ahead,  is  as  useful  in  a  flock  of  Mexican  ewes  as  a  square-built, 
compact,  stout,  vigorous,  well-woolled,  thorough-bred  Merino,  an  animal 
perfect  in  all  those  parts  where  the  Mexican  is  naturally  defective.  I  this 
year  sheared  many  grade  sheep,  three  and  four  removes  from  common 
Mexican  ewes,  which  yielded  8,  8-J,  and  some  of  them  9  pounds  of  wool, 
and  wool  so  fine  that  it  would  require  a  sharp  sampler  to  distinguish  it 
from  pure  Merino,  while  the  animals  were  perfect  in  form,  lusty,  and  of 
most  vigorous  constitution.  I  could  not  have  got  along  so  fast  with  grade 
bucks,  and  I  think  Mr.  Decrow  was  wrong  when  he  says  that  he  had 
made  up  his  mind  to  "  sell  or  exchange  his  thirteen  pure  Merino  bucks, 
even  at  half-price,  and  furnish  his  newly  purchased  Mexican  ewes  (600  in 
number)  with  rams  of  his  own  raising,  from  his  own  flock  in  preference." 
The  flock  master  who  breeds  altogether  from  pure  Merino  bucks,  knows 
always  where  he  is,  and  where  he  will  come  out  at  the  expiration  of  a 
certain  time  ;  but  if  he  uses  no  other  than  grade  rams,  he  is  ever  living 
in  uncertainty,  and  will  never  reach  any  particular  end.  My  great  object 
is  to  breed  up  until  every  sheep  I  may  own,  may  be  safely  marked  a 
thorough,  full-blood  Merino ;  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  should  I 
live,  I  shall  achieve  this  result.  But  not  in  a  century  could  I  attain  an 
end  I  neem  so  desirable,  were  I  to  breed  continually  from  grade  rams. 

I  do  not  wash  my  sheep  at  all,  and  for  what  I  deem  good  reasons. 
About  the  middle  of  April,  or  at  the  time  when  one  half  my  ewes  have 
young  lambs  at  their  sides,  and  the  balance  are  about  to  drop,  would  bo 
the  only  time  I  could  wash  in  this  region.  At  this  period  I  would  not 
race  or  worry  my  ewes  at  all  on  any  account ;  they  should  be  pestered  as 
little  as  possible,  and  any  advantage  to  the  fleece  from  washing  cannot 
make  up  for  the  injury  to  the  animal.  I  might  wash  my  bucks  and 
wethers  without  injury,  and  my  yearling  lamb  flock,  made  up  of  ewes  and 
wethers,  and  I  may  possibly  try  the  experiment ;  but  my  old  ewes  never. 
Could  my  lambs  come  the  latter  part  of  February,  as  Mr.  Decrow  deems 
best,  I  might  then  wash  all ;  but  in  this  high  mountain  region  yeaning 
time  cannot  prudently  come  before  the  latter  part  of  March  or  April,  the 
the  very  period  when  we  must  commence  washing  and  shearing.  We 
are  apt  to  have  bad  weather  in  February  in  this  section,  and  even  up  to 
the  loth  or  20th  of  March.  Now,  as  my  lambs  come  at  the  outset  at  the 
rate  of  over  one  hundred  a  day,  a  single  cold,  rainy  or  nicety  norther 
would  carry  off  one  half  of  those  dropped  during  its  continuance ;  and 
hence  I  sa^r  that  in  this  parallel  of  latitude,  and  north  of  it,  our  yeaning 
time  cannot  commence  before  the  latter  part  of  March,  without  running 
great  risk  of  loss. 

I  will  not  trespass  farther  upon  your  valuable  space  at  this  time ; 
another  year,  should  you  wish  it,  I  will  give  you  a  fourth  article  upon  my 
experience  in  sheep  raising  in  Texas. 

Respectfully,  your  friend, 

GEO.  WILKINS  KENDALL. 
NEW  BBAUXFELS,  August  1,  1859, 


INDEX. 


A. 

Abdomen,  the.    Page  228. 

contents  of  the,  228—233. 
Abomasum,  cut  of  the,  228. 

structure  and  functions  of  the,  229. 
Acarus  of  scab,  cut  of  the,  259. 

description  and  habits  of  the,  258—259. 

how  produced,  258. 
Acetate  of  copper.    See  Verdigris. 
Afghanistan,  advantages  of,  for  sheep  hus- 
bandry, 118. 

Africa,   (exclusive  of  Cape  of  Good  Hope,) 
sheep  of,  151. 

exports  of  wool  to  England  from,  110. 

exports  of  wool  to  U.  S.  in  1846,  124. 

quality  of  wool  exported  from,  90. 
Age,  determined  by  the  teeth,  237,  238. 

names  indicative  of  the,  237. 

length  of,  in  different  breeds,  156,  157. 
Agrostis  (stricta)  yulgaris.  See  Herds-grass. 
Air-cells,  description  of  the,  235. 
Alabama,  population  of,  17. 

number  of  sheep  in,  17. 

pounds  of  wool  grown  in,  17. 

average  weight  of  fleeces  in,  18,  21. 

woollen  factories  in,  17. 

value  of  woollen  goods  manufactured  in, 
17. 

price  of  land  in,  60. 

adaptation  of  mountain  lands  of,  to  sheep 

husbandry,  47. 

Al«,  the  use  of,  in  sheep  medicine,  274. 
Allegheny  mountains.  See  Apalachian  moun- 
tains. 

Allspice,  use  of,  in  sheep  medicine,  276. 
Aloes,  use  of,  in  sheep  medicine,  275. 
Alum,  use  of,  in  sheep  medicine,  275. 
Anatomy  of  the  sheep,  227,  238. 

how  far  necessary  to  be  studied,  227. 

proper  subjects  for  the  study  of,  227. 

directions  for  studying,  227,  228. 
Animals  which  destroy  sheep  in  the  South, 
64. 

in  Australia,  65. 

at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  65. 

how  guarded  against,  65. 
Antimony,  the  use  of,  in  sheep  medicine,  275. 
Aorta,  the,  234. 

Apalachian   mountains    of    U.    S.,    where 
situated,  30. 

area  occupied  by,  30. 

geology  and  soils  of,  30,  31,  43,44,  46,49. 

altitude  of,  43. 

grasses  which  flourish  on,  43,  44,  47,  59, 
62. 

adaptation  of,  to  pasturage,  44,  46,  47, 
59,  62. 

Climate  on,  44—51,  59. 

price  of  lands  on,  44,  46 — 48,  59. 
Apoplexy,  confounded  with  grub  in  the  head, 
258. 

and  treatment  of,  251 — 253. 

2 


Arachis.     See  Pindar*. 

Arctium  lappa,  injurious  to  wool,  131. 

Argentine  Republic.     See  Buenos  Ayres. 

Arsenic,  the  use  of,  in  sheep  practice,  275. 

Arteries,  the,  234. 

Artichokes,  value  of,  as  a  fodder,  213. 

straw  of,  fed  to  sheep  in  Germany,  211 
Ashes,  as  a  fertilizer  in  the  South,  67. 

leached,  67. 

analysis  of,  67. 
Asia.    See  names  of  countries  of. 

exports  of  wpol  from  to  U.  S.  in  1846 

124. 

Asiatic  sheep.     See  Broad-tailed  sheep. 
Asia  Minor,    adaptation  of,  to  sheep  hua 

bandry,  118. 

Auricles  of  the  heart,  the,  234. 
Australia,  introduction  of  sheep  into,  25. 

introduction  of  Merinos  into,  25. 

effect  of  climate  of,  on  quality  of  wool,, 
25—29. 

wools  of,  compared  with  Spanish,  26. 

wools  of,  compared  with  Saxon,  26. 

exports  of  wool  from,  25. 

exports  of  wool  brought  down  tol  546, 294'- 

how  sheep  are  managed  in,  26. 

sheep   husbandry    of,    compared    wit  In 
Saxon,  26. 

general  adaptation    of,    to  sheep    hus^ 
bandry,  25,  119—121. 

soils  and  products  of,  119. 

price  of  land  and  labor  in,  119—121. 

climate  of,  120. 

remarkable  droutns  of,  120. 

wild  beasts  in,  destructive  to  sheep,  121. 

vast  distance  of,  from  European  markets, 
121. 

prospect  of  the  increase  of  wool  in,  121.. 

note  giving  statistics  of  wool  trade  of 

brought  aown  to  1846,  294. 
Austria,  advantages  of,  for  sheep  husbandry ,. 
1 14, 116.     See  Germany  and  Hungary. 

soils  of,  114. 

climate  of,  115. 

management  of  sheep  in,  1 39. 

exports  of  wool  from,  to  U.  S.  in  1846r 

124. 
Aquafortis,  use  of,  in  sheep  practice,  276 

B. 

Baden,  advantages  of,  for  sheep  husbandry 

114. 

Bakeweil,  Mr.,  the  former  of  the  New  Lei- 
cester bteed,  142. 
the  conduct  of,  as  a  feeder,  censured, 

143,  249. 
Barley,  value  of,  in  producing  live  weight,. 

wool  and  tallow,  214. 
per  cent,  of  nitrogen  in,  214. 
value  of  straw  of,  as  a  fodder,  213. 
I         straw  of,  fed  to  sheep  in  Germany,  311 


:24 


INDEX. 


Barns  for  sheep,  cut  of.   Page  205. 

ground-plan  of,  with  sheds  and  yards, 

209. 

Barrack  for  hay,  description  and  cut  of,  209. 
Bavaria,  advantages  of,  for  sheep  husbandry, 

114,  115. 
Beans,  value  of,  as  a  fodder,  213. 

straw  of,  fed  to  sheep  in  Germany,  .61  _ 
Beet  field,  value  of,  as  a  fodder,  213. 

white  Silesian,  value  of,  as  a  fodder,  213. 
Belgium,  exports  of  wool  from,  110. 

exports  of  wool  from,  to  U.  S.  in  1846, 124. 

late  increase  of  manufactures  in,  294. 
Beloochistan,  advantages  of,  for  sheep  hus- 
bandry, 118. 
Bermuda  grass  in  the  South,  38. 

its  enormous  product,  38. 

its  adaptation  to  meadow  or  pasture,  38. 

its  adaptation  to  barren  sands,  38. 
Bichloride  of  mercury,  use  of,  in  sheep  me- 
dicine, 275. 
Biflex  canal,  description  of,  238. 

disease  of,  261. 
Bile,  account  of  the,  231. 
Biliary  duct,  description  of  the,  231. 
Bladder,  the,  233. 
Blain,  unusual  in  U.  S.,  222. 
-Blankets  for  slaves,  description  of,  87,  90. 

cost  of  manufacturing,  87,  90—92. 
Bleeding,  place  for,  273,  274. 

rules  for,  274. 

the  quantity  of  blood  to  be  abstracted  in, 

274. 
Blood,  the  circulation  of  the,  235. 

the  importance  of  purity  of,  in  breeding, 

168,  171,  172. 
Bide  grass,  as  the  food  ot  sheep,  212. 

in  the  North,  33. 

in  the  South,  37. 

on  the  Southern  mountains,  44,  47,  48. 
'Blue  Ridge  of  mountains,  location  of,  30. 
Also,  see  Apalachians. 

geology  of,  30. 

soils  and  products  of,  31,  44—47,  59. 

advantages    of,    for    sheep    husbandry, 

44—47,  59. 

'•Bone  dust,  as  a  manure  in  the  South,  67. 
;Bot.     See  Grub  in  the  Head. 
Box  for  feeding  grain  to  sheep,  cut  of,  203. 

for  dipping  lambs,  cut  of,  192. 
•Brain,  description  of  the,  236. 
Brazil,  a  portion  of,  in  wool  zone,  105. 

exports  of  wool  from,  110. 

exports  of  wool  from,  to  U.  S.  in  1846, 

124. 
breeding,  principles  of,  168-—172. 

importance  of  selection  in,  168,  190. 

in  and  in,  effects  of,  169. 

in  and  in,  how  avoided,  170,  172. 

crossing,  when  admissible  in,  170. 

crossing,  how  conducted,  172. 

crossing,  method  of  starting  flocks  in  the 
South  by,  170. 

crossing,  importance  of  selecting  good 
rams  for,  172. 

register,  how  kept,  180. 
British  America,  exports  of  wool  from,  110. 

to  U.  S.  in  1846,  124. 

firitish  West  Indies,  exports  ot  wool  from, 
110. 

to  U.  S.  in  1846,  124. 

Broad-tailed  sheep  introduced  into  the  U.  S.. 
151. 

•wool  and  mutton  of  the,  151. 


Bronchial  tubes,  the,  235. 

Bronchitis,  description  and  treatment  of,  240. 

Bronchocele.     See  Goitre. 

Browse,  feeding  of,  in  winter,  217. 

Buckwheat,    value    of,    in    producing    lire 

weight,  wool  and  tallow,  214. 
per  cent,  of  nitrogen  in,  214. 
-aioe  of  straw  ofT  as  a  fodder,  213. 
straw  of,  fed  to  sheep  in  Germany,  21 J. 
Buenos  Ayres,  advantages  of,  for  sheep  hus- 
bandry, 105,  106. 
advantages  of,  for  sheep  husbandry,  com 

pared  with  U.  S.,  106. 
exports  of  wool  from,  105. 
exports  of  wool  from,  to  U.  S.,  in  1846 

124. 

pampas  of,  105. 
inhabitants  of,  105. 
Burdock,  injurious  to  wool,  131. 


c. 


Cabbage,  value  of,  as  a  fodder,  213. 

Cabul,  advantages  of,  for  sheep  husbandry. 

118. 

Cachectic  diseases,  254,  255. 
Camphor,  use  of,  in  sheep  medicine,  275. 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  65,  119. 

Merinos  introduced  in,  26. 

Merinos,  their  increase  in,  26. 

exports  of  wool  from,  110. 

exports  of,  to  U.  S.  in  1846,  124. 

wool  of,  compared  with  Australia,  2<>. 

advantages  of,  for  sheep  husbandry,  65, 

climate  of,  26,  119. 

climate  of,  effect  of,  on  quality  of  wool,  26. 
face  of  the  country  in,  119. 
remarkable  drouths  in,  11!). 
prevalence  of  wild  beasts  in,  119. 
Capillaries,  functions  of  the,  234. 
Caraway  seeds,  the  use  of,  in  sheep  medi 

cine,  275. 

Cardiac  opening,  the,  231. 
Carrots,  value  of,  as  a  fodder,  213. 
Castration  of  rams,  180. 
Cataract,  the,  239.' 
Catarrh,  common,  description  and  treatment 

of,  240. 
malignant  epizootic,  description  of,  240 — 

247. 
malignant  epizootic,  ravages  of,  in  U.  S., 

240. 
malignant  epizootic,  treatment  of,  245, 

246. 

Catechu,  use  of,  in  sheep  medicine,  275. 
Cattle  doctor,  the  most  dangerous  of  mala- 
dies, 226. 

Caul.     See  Omentum. 
Census  of  U.  S.,  inaccurate  in  its  wool  re 

turns,  18. 

Cerebellum,  the,  236. 
Chalk,  the  use  of,  in  sheep  medicine,  275. 
Chelmsford  plains,  for  slave  cloths,  86,  90. 

quality  and  cost  of  manufacturing,  90 — 93 
Cheviot  sheep,  introduction  of,  into  U.  S, 

149. 

description  of,  149,  150,  154. 
low  quality  of  their  wool,  151. 
Chili,  portion  of,  in  the  wool  zone,  105. 
exports  of  wool  from,  110. 
exports  of  wool  from,  to  U.  S.  in  1846 
124. 


INDEX. 


325 


China    advantages  of,  for  sheep  husbandry, 

Page  118. 

Choking,  treatment  of,  273. 
Chyle,  account  of  the,  231. 
Climate,  not  controlled  by  latitude,  104. 
of  various  countries  compared,  104. 
range  of,  in  which  fine  sheep  are  bred, 

17,  18. 

range  of,  in  which  wool  can  be  most  eco- 
nomically grown,  103,  104. 
of  U.  S.,  favorable  to  sheep,  18,  103, 104. 
effect  of,  on  health  of  sheep,  18,  103. 
effect  of,  on  the  amount  of  wool,  22. 
effect  of,  on  the  quality  of  wool,  23, 

27—29. 

Clogging  sheep,  how  done,  193. 
Clover,  red,  as  the  food  of  sheep,  212. 

value  of,  cut  in  different  states,  as  a  fod- 
der, 213. 

acclimation  of,  in  Virginia,  36. 
acclimation  of,  on  the  mountains  of  Vir- 
ginia, 44,  47. 

acclimation  of,  south  of  Virginia,  44, 47. 
not  indispensable,  44,  47. 
substitute  for,  as  a  fodder,  and  manuring 

crop,  39,  41. 

white,  as  the  food  of  sheep,  212. 
flourishes  on  the   southern  mountains, 

45,  47. 

Coecum,  cut  of  the,  232. 
Colic,  symptoms  and  treatment  of,  253. 
Cold  storms,  dangerous  effects  of,  after  shear- 
ing, 191. 

Colombia,  exports  of  wool  from,  110. 
Colon,  cut  of  the,  232. 
Cobza,  value  of,  as  a  fodder,  213. 
Copperas,  sulphate  of,  use  of,  in  sheep  medi- 
cine, 275. 

CJcrn,  Indian,  as  food  for  sheep,  216. 
value  of,  as  a  fodder,  213. 
blades  of,  as  sheep  fodder,  41,  212,  214. 
stalks  of.  as  a  sheep  fodder,  41,  212, 214. 
Corrosive  sublimate,  use  of,  in  sheep  medi- 
cine, 275. 
Cotswold  sheep,  origin  of,  149. 

introduction  of,  into  the  U.  S.,  149. 
description  of_  149. 
crosses  of,  with  other  breeds,  149. 
cut  of,  148. 

Cotton,  statistics  of  the  crop  of,  79. 
cost  of  growing,  79,  85. 
cost  of  growing,  compared  with  that  of 

growing  wool,  85. 

should  alternate  with  other  crops,  78 — 83. 
alternating  of,  with  wool  growing  pro- 
posed, 81. 
rotations  for  such  alternation  proposed, 

83,  84. 
more  should  be  grown  on  less  land,  80, 

85. 

seed  of,  as  a  food  for  sheep,  216. 
Crab  grass,  account  of  the,  37. 
Creeping  panic  grass.     See  Bermuda  grass. 
Crimea,  advantages  of,  for  wool  growing, 

Merinos  introduced  in,  117. 
Crook,  uses  of  the,  described,  196. 

cut  of  the,  196. 
Crossing  breeds  and  varieties,  object  of,  170. 

effects  of,  170—172. 

advantages  of,  under  some  circumstances, 

162,  164,  170. 

Cud,  loss  of  the,  not  a  disease,  272. 
Cumberland  grass.     See  Bermuda  gnu* 


Cumberland  mountains  described,  43.   Also, 

see  Apalachians. 
the  adaptation  of,  to  sheep  husoandry, 

48. 
Curled  kale,  as  food  for  sheep,  62. 

flourishes  on  southern  mountains,  62 
Cynodon  dactylon.  See  Bermuda  giass. 
Cynoglossum  officinale,  injurious  "to 

174.     See  Hound' s-tonyue. 
Cystisis,  unusual  in  U.  S.,  238. 


D. 


Dactylis  glomerala.     See  Orchard  grass. 
Dangerous  rams,  how  managed,  193. 
Denmark,  exports  of  wool  from,  110. 
Depots  for  wool.    See  Wool  Depots. 
Diaphragm,  structure  and  functions  of,  234. 
Diarrhoea,  description  and  treatment  of,  250. 
Digestion,  the  process  of,  229 — 231. 
Digitalis,  use  of,  in  sheep  medicine,  275. 
Digitaria  sanguinalis,  account  of  the,  37. 
Diseases,  the  classification  of,  adopted,  226. 
same  causes  do  not  produce  the  same,  in 

different  countries,  220. 
popular  superstitions  concerning  causes 

of,  220,  221. 
many  of  those  of  England  not  found  in 

U.  S.,  221— 223,  238. 
difference  in  the  type  of,  in  England  and 

U.  S.,  224. 

treatment  of,  in  England  and  U.  S.  dif- 
ferent, 224. 
English    treatment  of,   too    expensive 

224,  225. 
English  treatment  requires    too  much 

skill  for  popular  use,  225. 
English  treatment,  its  pharmacopeia  loo 

extensive,  225. 

treatment  of,  by  "cattle  doctors"  dan- 
gerous, 226. 
better  do  too  little  for,  than  too  much, 

226. 
Dissection  indispensable  to  learn  nature  and 

treatment  of  diseases,  227. 
amount  of  instruction  necessary  to  per- 
form, 227. 

directions  for,  227, 228. 
proper  subjects  for,  227. 
Division  of  flocks  proper  in  summer,  193. 

necessary  in  winter,  199. 
Docking  sheep,  necessity  for,  181. 

how  performed,  181. 
Dogs,  sheep.     See  Sheep  dogs. 

destruction  of  sheep  in  the  South  by,  64 
legal  enactments  in  relation  to  killing 

sheep  by,  in  New  York,  64. 
methods  of  protecting  sheep  from,  65. 
Down  sheep.     See  Southdowns. 
Dropsy,  acute,  unusual  in  U.  S.,  222. 
Drouths,  the  severe,  which  prevail  in  Aus- 
tralia and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
119,  120. 

Ductus  choledochus,  functions  of  the,  231. 
Duodenum,  cut  of  the,  232. 
Dura  mater,  the,  236. 
Dutch  West  Indies,  exports  of  wool  from,  io 

U.  S.  in  1846, 124. 
Duties  on  wool  in  different  nations.    See 

Tariffs. 
Dysentery,  difference  between,  and  diarrhera, 

251. 
^<ture  and  treatment  of,  261. 


32G 


INDEX. 


E. 


Ear,  numbering  sheep  by  notching.  Page  179. 
Von  Thaer's  system  of,  178,  179. 
cuts  illustrating,  179. 
•when  done,  180. 
noteher,  described,  180. 
holes  in,  to  record  age,  179. 
holes  in,  how  made,  &c.,  179. 
East  Indies,  increasing  exports  of  wool  from, 

110,111. 
in  what  countries  of  the,  wool  is  grown, 

118. 
Ellman,  Mr.  the  great  imp  over  of  the  South- 

downs,  144. 

Emasculation  of  rams,  how  performed,  181. 
England,  duties  of,  on  imported  wool,  106. 
table  of  imports  of  wool  of,  and  from 

whence  imported,  every  fifth  year  for 

thirty  years,  110. 
imports  of  wool  of,  compared  with  other 

nations,  108. 

imports  of,  brought  down  to  1846,  294. 
vast  increase  of  imports  of  wool  of,  in 

sixty-nine  years,  123. 
subsequent  increase  in  imports  of,  294. 
exports  of  woollens  from,  108. 
exports  of  wool  from,  109. 
exports  of  wool  from,  to  U.  S.,  110. 
exports  of  wool  from,  to  U.  S.  in  1846, 

124. 

numoer  of  sheep  in,  109. 
produce  of  wool  in,  109. 
production  of  wool  in,  does  not  meet  the 

home  consumption,  109. 
general  advantages  of,  for  wool  growing, 

sheep  necessary  to  sustain  tillage  of,  71. 

sheep  dogs  of,  286. 
Enteritis,  little  known  in  U.  S.,  238. 
Epiglottis,  description  of  the,  236. 
Epilepsy,  little  known  in  U.  S.,  253. 
Epsom  salts,  the  use  of,  in  sheep  medicine, 

275. 

Erysipelatous  scab,  261. 
Ethmoid  bone,  cut  of  the,  236. 
Ewes,  proper  age  of,  to  begin  breeding,  137. 

proper  number  to  be  put  to  one  ram,  197. 

different  methods  of  putting  to  ram,  198. 

feed  and  management  of,  during  preg- 
nancy, 217. 

pregnant,  should  be  watered  separately, 

199. 
Eye,  inflammation  of  the,  how  treated,  239. 


F. 


Fall  feeding,  a  good  preparation  for  winter, 

195. 

Febrile  diseases,  account  of  the,  238  —  251. 
Feeding  sheep  in  yards  with  other  stock  im- 

proper, 210. 

Felting  property  in  wool  accounted  for,  137. 
Fences,  poor  ones  teach  sheep  to  jump,  194. 
Fever,  inflammatory,  little  known  in  U.  S., 
238. 

malignant,  little  known  in  U.  S.,  238. 

typhus,  little  known  in  U.  S.,  238. 
Flaxseed.     See  Linseed. 
Fleece,  evenness  of,  important,  167. 

how  prepared  for  folding,  187. 

how  folded,  187,  188. 


Fleece,  cuts  of  table  and  trough  for  folding 
the,  187,  188. 

proper  twine  for  tying,  188. 

cut  of,  properly  done  up,  188. 
Florida,  population  of,  17. 

number  of  sheep  in,  17. 

pounds  of  wool  grown  in,  17. 

average  weight  of  fleeces  in,  13.  21. 

woollen  factories  in,  17. 

woollen  goods  manufactured  in,  17. 
Fluke  worm,  cuts  of  the,  248. 

account  of  the,  247,  248. 
Fly,  its  attacks  and  their  effects,  173,  192. 

how  avoided,  173,  192. 
Fodders,  table  of  nutritious  equivalents  of 
213. 

increase  in  weight,  wool  and  tallow,  frorrt 
using  different  kinds  of,  214,  215. 

table  of  winter  variations  in,  for  sheep. 
211. 

table   of,   for  ewes,    a  month  prior  to 
lambing,  212. 

for  winter  feed  of  breeding  ewes,  217. 

amount  consumed  influenced  by  tempe- 
rature, 217,  218. 

cereal  grains  for  store  sheep,  215,  216. 

ruta  bagas  for  store  sheop,  215,  216. 

Indian  corn  to  be  fed  with  care,  216. 

regularity  in  giving,  very  important,  217. 
Folding,  how  done  in  England,  72. 

objects  of,  in  England,  72. 

inexpedient  in  U.  S.,  73. 
Folding  of  fleeces.     See  Fleece. 
Food.     See  Grasses  and  Fodders. 
Foot  rot.     See  Hoof -ail. 
Fouls,  cause  and  treatment  of,  270. 
Foxglove.     See  Digitalis. 
Fractures,  treatment  of,  273. 
France,  area  of,  111. 

population  of,  111. 

number  of  sheep  in,  111. 

exports  of  wool  from,  110. 

exports  of,  to  U.  S.  in  1846,  124. 

exports  of  woollens  from,  108. 

late  increase  in  manufactures  of,  111,296 

imports  of  wool  of,  108. 

duties  of,  on  imported  wool,  106. 

advantages  of,  for  sheep  husbandry,  111. 

soil  and  products  of,  111. 
French  Merinos,  account  of,  133. 

cut  of  wool  of,  135. 

quality  of  wool  of,  compared  with  Spa- 
nish  and  American  families,  135, 136. 

weight  of  fleeces  of,  133. 
French  sheep  dogs,  285. 
Frontal  bone,  cut  of  section  of,  236. 
Frontal  sinuses,  cut  of,  236. 

locality  of  the  hot  or  grub  in  the  head, 
256. 


G. 


Gad-fly  of  the  sheep.     See  CEstrus  ovit. 
Gall  bladder,  account  of  the,  233. 
Garget,  description  and  treatment  of,  251. 
Gastritis,  little  known  in  U.  S.,  238. 
Generative  organs,  the,  233. 
Gentian,  the  use  of,  in  sheep  medicine,  873» 
Georgia,  population  of,  17. 

number  of  sheep  in,  17. 

pounds  of  wool  grown  in,  17. 

average  weight  of  fleeces  in,  18,21. 

woollen  factories  in,  17. 


INDEX 


327 


Georgia,    woollen  goods    manufactured  in. 
Page  17. 

advantages  of,  for  sheep  husbandry,  42, 

59,  60. 

price  of  land  in,  60. 
adaptation  of  mountain  lands  of,  to  sheep 

husbandry,  47. 
Germany,  area  of,  114. 
population  of,  114. 
lace  of  the  country  in,  114. 
soils  of,  114. 
climate  of,  115. 
land  tenures  in,  115. 

system  of  sheep  husbandry  in,  115,  139. 
method  of  managing  sheep  in,  139. 
circumstances  under  which  the  wool  of, 

is  grown  in,  115,  116. 
export  of  wool  from,  110,  114. 
export  of  woollens  from,  108. 
late  increase  in  woollen  manufactures  of, 

296. 
general  advantages  of,  for  wool  growing, 

114—116. 
general  advantages  of,  compared  with 

U.  S.,  116. 
general    advantages    of,    Mr.    Grove's 

opinion,  116. 

Gestation,  period  of.  197. 
Gibraltar,  exports  of  wool  from,  110. 
exports  of,  to  U.  S.  in  1846,  124. 
Ginger,  the  use  of,  in  sheep  medicine,  275. 
Glands,  the  parotid,  236. 
the  thyroid,  236. 
the  thyroid,  diseases  of,  270. 
the  salivary,  236. 
Glottis,  account  of  the,  236. 
Goggles.     See  Hydatid  in  the  brain. 
Goitre,  account  of  the,  270,  271. 
Grain,   policy  of  feeding  to  store  sheep  in 

winter,  215. 

best  kinds  of,  for  winter  feed,  216. 
equivalents  of,  in  nutriment,  213. 
effects  of  different  kinds  of,  in  producing 

wool,  tallow  and  muscle,  214. 
G'rain  box  for  sheep,  cut  and  description  of, 

203.. 
Grasses,  natural  ones  of  the  South,  36 — 39, 

44,  45,  47—49,  58,  59. 
varieties  of,  which  should  be  tried  in  the 

South,  33,  35—38.       . 
best  acclimated  ones  of  the  South,  33, 

36—38. 
manner  of  forming  swards  of,  in  the 

South,  73—75. 

Great  Bucharia,  wool  trade  of,  118. 
Greece,  exports  of  wool  from,  110,  114.    (In 

Table  on  page  110  it  is  called  Morea.) 
advantages  of,  for  sheep  husbandry.  See 

Remarks  on  Turkey,  104,  114. 
Grub  in  the  head,  description  of  the,  256, 

257. 

the  larva  of  the  CEstrus  ovis,  257. 
cuts  and  description  of  the  CEstrus,  256. 
time  CEstrus  deposits  its  eggs,  256. 
locality  and  habits  of  the  larva,  256, 

257. 

cuts  and  description  of  the  larva,  257. 
cut  and  description  of  the  chrysalis,  257. 
do  the  larva  produce  disease  in  the  sheep  ? 

257,  258. 

opinions  of  eminent  veterinarians  in  rela- 
tion to,  258. 
method  of  preventing  and  expelling  the 

larva,  258. 


Guano,  as  a  manure  in  ths  South,  67. 
Guatemala,  exports  of  wool  from,  110. 
Guernsey  and  Man,  exports  of  wool  from 

110. 

Gullet,  obstructions  of,  how  treated,  273. 
Gypsum  as  a  fertilizer  in  the  South,  67. 


H. 


Handling  sheep,  directions  for,  174. 

Hay,  different  value  of  different  qualities  ol, 

as  fodder,  213. 
comparative  value  of,  in  producing  live 

weight,  wool,  and  tallow,  214. 
nitrogen  in,  214. 
Hay  holders  for  winter  foddering  described, 

211. 
Hanse  Towns,  exports  of  wool  from,  to  U.  S. 

in  1846,  124. 

Head,  for  proper  form  of,  see  the  descrip' 
tions  of  the  several  breeds,  and  prin 
ciples  of  breeding. 
cut  of  the  bones  of  the,  236. 
Heart,  structure  and  functions  of  the,  234, 

235. 

Hedysarum  onibrichis.     See  Sainfoin. 
Hepatization  of   the  lungs,  description  of, 

239. 
Herds  grass,  character  of,  33,  37. 

flourishes  in  South  Carolina,  36,  59. 
flourishes  on  the  mountains  of  North 

Carolina,  44. 
the  soils  adapted  to,  37. 
Hindostan,  wools  exported  from,  108. 
Holland,  exports  of  wool  from,  110. 

exports  of  wool  from,  to  U.  S.  in  1815, 

124. 

exports  of  woollens  from,  108. 
Honeycomb,  or  second  stomach.     See  Rct\- 

culum. 

Hooding  dangerous  rams,  how  done,  193. 
Hoof,  periodical  shortening  of  the,  necessary, 

183. 
best   time  and  method  for  cutting  the, 

183. 

cut  of  toe-nippers  for  shortening  the,  183. 
Hoof-ail,  erroneous   statements   of    English 

writers  concerning,  262. 
author's  experience  with  the,  262. 
consecutive  symptoms  of,  263. 
treatment  of,  264 — 269. 
preparation  of  the  foot  for  treatment  HI 

the  different  stages  of,  265. 
common  remedies  for,  265,  266. 
common  method  of  treating,  ineffectual 

264. 

effectual  method  of  treating,  266,  267. 
effectual  mqthod  of  treating,  expense  of. 

267. 
cheap   method  of  keeping  under,  267, 

268, 
cheap  method  of  keeping  under,  cuts  of 

arrangements  for,  267,  268. 
evident  contagiousness  of,  269,  270. 
propagated  by  inoculation,  269,  270. 
is  it  propagated  otherwise  than  by  ino- 
culation? 270.     . 
does  not  originate  spontaneously  in  U.  S., 

222,  223,  269. 
originates    spontaneously    in    England 

223. 

Hoof-rot.    See  Hoof -ail. 
Hoove,  cause  and  treatment  of,  272,  ?73. 


828 


INDEX. 


Horns,  objectionable.   Page  166. 

method  of  shortening,  192. 

cause  and  treatment  of  maggots  under 

the,  192. 

Hoppling  sheep,  how  performed,  193. 
Hospital  for  feeble  sheep,  in  winter,  199. 
Hound's-tongue,  the  burr  of,   injurious  to 

wool,  174. 

Hungary,  advantages  of,  for  sheep  husbandry, 
115—117. 

advantages  of,  compared  with  those  of 
other  countries,  117. 

climate  of,  115,  116. 

soils  of,  116. 

land  tenures  in,  116. 

want  of  market  facilities  in,  116,  117. 

Prince  Esterhazy's  flock  in,  116. 

sheep  dogs  of,  284. 
Hydatid  in  the  brain,  254,  255. 

causes  of,  254. 

prevalence  in  England  of,  254. 

not  very  common  in  U.  S.,  254. 

barbarous  popular  method  of  treating, 
255. 

proper  treatment  of,  255. 


I. 


Ileum,  cut  of  the,  232. 

Illinois,  advantages  on  prairies  of,  for  wool 

growing,  96—103. 

Saxon  sheep  introduced  into  south  of,  27. 
rot  prevails  in  south  of,  222. 
In-and-in  breeding,  effects  of,  169. 
Independent    Tartary,    advantages    of,  -for 

sheep  husbandry,  118. 
Indiana,  advantages  of,  for  wool  growing, 

96—103. 

Inflammation  of  the  bladder.     See  Cystitis. 
of  the  brain.     See  Phrenilis. 
of  the  eye.     See  Opthalmia. 
of  the  intestines.     See  Enteritis, 
of  the  larynx.    .See  Laryngitis. 
of  the  lungs.     See  Pneumonia. 
of  the  liver.     See  Rot. 
of  the  stomach.     See  Gastritis. 
of  the  udder.     See  Garget. 
of  the  membrane  lining  the  thorax.  See 

Pleuritis. 
of  the  mucous  membrane   lining    the 

bronchial  tubes.     See  Bronchitis. 
of  the  mucous  coat  of  the  smaller  intes- 
tines.    See  Diarrhoea. 
of  the  mucous  coat  of  the  larger  intes- 
tines.    See  Dysentery. 
of  the  mucous  membrane  lining  the  nasal 

passages.     See  Catarrh. 
of  the  cellular  tissue  of  the  tongue.  See 

Blain. 

Intermaxillary  bone,  cut  of  the,  236. 
Intestines,  cut  of  the,  232. 
Iodine,  use  of,  in  sheep  medicine,  275,  276. 
Iowa,  advantages  of,  for  sheep  husbandry, 

96—103. 
Italy,   advantages  of,  for  sheep  husbandry, 

113. 

exports  of  wool  from,  110. 
exports  of  woollens  from,  108. 
area  of,  113. 
population  of,  111. 
soil  and  climate  of,  113. 
^aeturage  of,  113. 


.1. 


Jejunum,  cut  of  the,  232. 

J^hn's-wort,  bad  effects  of,  on  sheep,  271. 

bad  effects  of,  how  treated,  271,  2^2. 
Jjgular  vein,  the    best   place  for  bleediEA 

274. 
»une  grass.     See  Blue  grast. 

K. 

Kalmia  angustiflora.  poisonous  to  sheep, 271 

antidotes  for,  271. 
Kentucky,  population  of,  17. 

number  of  sheep  in,  17. 

pounds  of  wool  grown  in,  17. 

average  weight  of  fleeces  in,  18,  21. 

woollen  factories  in,  17. 

woollen  goods  manufactured  in,  17. 

fine  wooled  sheep  bred  in,  27. 

advantages  of,  for  sheep  husbandry,  27 
47,  48. 

adaptation  of    mountain    lands  of,    foi 

sheep  husbandry,  47,  48. 
Kidneys,  structure  and  functions  of  the,  233, 


L. 


Lacteala,  the,  231. 

Lambs,  how  fed  in  winter,  215,  216. 

should  be  wintered  separately,  199. 
Lambing,  proper  time  for,  175. 

shelters  necessary  for,  175. 

assistance  when  to  be  rendered  ewe  in 
175. 

care  of  the  newly  dropped  lamb,  176. 

changing  dams,  how  done,  177. 

irritation  of  the  bag,  how  managed,  177 

the  convenience  of  pens  in,  177. 

pinning  of  young  lambs  after,  177. 
Lard,  use  of,  in  sheep  medicine,  276. 
Larynx  described,  235. 
Laryngitis,  little  known  in  U.  S:,  238. 
Laurel,  low,  poisonous  to  sheep,  271. 
Leg,  treatment  of,  when  fractured,  273. 
Leicester  sheep,  origin  of  the,  142. 

cut  of  the/142. 

cut  of  the   microscopic   appearance   tt 
wool  of,  136. 

general  description  of,  143,  154. 

characters  of  as  breeders,  143. 

degree  of  hardiness  of,  143. 

points  aimed  at  by  breeders  of,  144. 

introduction  of,  into  U.  S.,  144. 
Lentils,  value  of,  as  a  fodder,  218. 

straw  off  value  of,  as  a  fodder,  £13. 

straw  of,  fed  to  sheep  in  Germany,  211 
Lice,  method  of  destroying,  192. 
Lime,  chloride  of,  use  of,  in  sheep  medicint 
276. 

carbonate  of,  use  of,  in  sheep  practice, 
276. 

as  a  fertilizer  in  the  South,  67—70. 

as  a  fertilizer,  when  valuable,  68. 

as  a  fertilizer,  Johnson's  opinions  con- 
cerning, 68. 

as  a  fertilizer,  Von  Thaer's  opinion  con- 
cerning, 68. 

as  a  fertilizer,  Fety.holut's  opinion  con 
cerning,  69. 


INDEX. 


Lime,  as  a  fertilizer,  Chaptal's  opinion  con- 
cerning.    Page  69. 

Linseed,  use  of,  to  guard  the  end  of  a  pro- 
bang.    See  Choking. 

caked,  value  of,  as  a  fodder,  213. 

oil,  use  of,  in  sheep  medicine,  276. 
Little  Bucharia,  exports  of  wool  from,  118. 
Liver,  structure  and  functions  of  the,  232 
233. 

diseases  of  the.    See  Rot. 
Lolium  perenne.     See  Eye  grass. 
Lombardy,  advantages   of,  for  eheep    hus- 
bandry, 113. 

Long  wool,  the  goods  in  which  it  is  em- 
ployed, 143,  151. 

the  sheep  which  produce  it,  143.  149, 
151. 

market  for,  in  U.  S.,  154. 
Loss  of  cud,  not  a  disease,  272. 
Louisiana,  population  of,  17. 

number  of  sheep  in,  17. 

pounds  of  wool  grown  in,  17. 

average  weight  of  ileeces  in,  18,  21. 

woollen  factories  in,  17. 

woollen  goods  manufactured  in,  17. 

price  of  land  in,  60. 
Lucern,  unsuccessful  in  the  North,  33. 

succeeds  on  the  southern  mountains,  47. 

value  of,  as  a  fodder,  213. 

fed  to  sheep  in  Germany,  211. 
Lunar  caustic,  use  of,  in  sheep  practice,  276. 
Lungs,  structure  and  functions  of  the,  235. 

nepatization  of  the,  described,  239. 

diseases  of  the,  239,  240. 
Lupins,  white,  as  a  green  manuring  crop  in 

the  South,  74. 

Lupinus  albus.     See  Lupi?is. 
Lymph,  the,  231. 
Lymphatics,  the,  231. 

M. 

Madia,  value  of,  as  a  fodder,  213. 

Maggots  on  sheep,  cause  and  treatment  of, 

192. 

Malta,  exports  of  wool  from,  110. 
Man,  Isle  of.     See  Guernsey  and  Man. 
Mangel  wurzel,  value  of,  in  producing  live 

weight,  wool,  and  tallow,  214. 
per  cent,  of  nitrogen  in,  214. 
Maniplus,  structure  and  functions  of  the,  229. 

cut  of  the,  228. 

Manufactures  of  wool.     SeeWoollen  Manu- 
factures. 

Manufactories.     See  Woollen  Factories. 
Manufacturers  of  wool,  American,  their  suc- 
cess identified  with  that  of  the  wool 
growers,  161. 

have  not  properly  discriminated  in  the 
prices  of  different  qualities  of  wool. 
160. 
combinations  of,  to  lower  prices  of  wool, 

161. 

Manures,  table  of  comparative  values  of, 40. 
the  available  ones  in  the  South,  67 — 76. 
green,  use  and  economy  of,  70,  72, 74,75, 
the  cheapest,  for  the  South,  73 — 75. 
where  applied  in  a  proper  rotation  of 

crops,  84. 

Many  folds.     See  Maniplus. 
Marking  sheep,  the  brand  for,  191. 
suitable  pigment  for,  191. 
hou  tnd  when  done,  19i. 


Marking  sheep,  on  the  ears,  how  done,  171'. 
Marl,  as  a  fertilizer,  South,  67 — 70. 

as  a  fertilizer,  when  valuable,  68,  70. 

as  a  fertilizer,  expensiveness  of,  70. 

Meadow  fox-tail   grass,    flourishes  on    tfe* 

southern  mountains,  47. 
Medicago  sativa.  See  Lucern. 
Medicines,  list  of,  for  sheep,  274 — 277. 

directions  for  administering  into  the  sto- 
mach, 273. 
Mercury,  preparations  of,  in  sheep  medicine, 

275,  276. 

Merinos,  introduction  into  the  U.  S.,  132. 
their  gradual  spread  in  the  U.  S.,  132. 
causes  of  their  subsequent  decrease  in 

U.  S.,  158,  159. 
their  rapid  restoration  to  public  favor  in 

U.  S.,  160,  161. 
Spanish  families  of,  132. 
Spanish,   amount  and  quality   of  wool 

yielded  by,  133,  135. 
Spanish,  cut  of  wool  of,  135,  137. 
French  family  of,  described,  133. 
French,    amount    and  quality  of  woo! 

yielded  by,  133,  135. 
French,  cut  of  wool  of,  135. 
American  families   of,  described,    133, 

134. 
American,  amount  and  quality  of  wool 

yielded  by,  55,  134—137. 
American,  cuts  of  wool  of,  135,  136. 
American,  cut  of  ram  of,  131. 
American,  cut  of  ewe  of,  134. 
American,  hardness  of,  137. 
American,  profits  of  a  premium  flock  of. 

55. 

•    American,  prices  of  wool  of,  55. 
range  of  climate  endured  by,  137. 
countries  successfully  introduced  in,  17 

18. 
consumption  of  food  by,  compared  with 

other  breeds,  137. 
as  breeders  and  nurses,  compared  with 

other  breeds,  137. 

proportion  of  wool  to  amount  of  food 
consumed,  compared  with  the  English 
breeds,  156. 
as  mutton  sheep,  compared  with  English 

breeds,  158. 
for  production  of  fine  wool,  compared 

with  Saxons,  163,  1<">4. 
crosses  with  Saxons,  134,  138,  141,  164. 
crosses  with  native  sheep,  164. 
crosses  with  Southdowns,  170,  171. 
crosses  with  Leicesters,  171. 
the  best  variety  of  sheep  for  the  South> 

163,  165—168. 
proper  size  of,  165. 
proper  form  of,  166. 
proper  weight  of  fleece  of,  165. 
proper  length  and  density  of  wool  of, 

167. 

proper  evenness  of  wool  of,  167. 
proper  style  of  wool  of,  168. 
proper  amount  of  gum  on  wool  of,  167. 
proper  quality  of  skin  of,  166. 
points  to  be  avoided  in,  168. 
Mesentery,  cut  of  the,  232. 
Mesenteric  glands,  the,  231. 
Mexico,  adaptation  of,  to  sheep  husbandry, 

105. 

exports  of  wool  from,  110. 
exports  of  wool  from,  to  IT.  S.  in  1846, 
124. 


330 


INDEX. 


Mexico,  sheep  dogs  of.     Page  284 — 28v>. 
Microscopic  views  of  wool,  135 — 137,  145. 
Middle  wools.    See  Southdown  wool. 
Midriff.     See  Diaphragm. 
Millet,  productiveness  of,  South,  37,  38. 

straw  ef.  fed  to  sheep  in  Germany,  211, 

212. 

value  of,  as  a  fodder,  213. 
Milt.     See  Spleen. 
Miscellaneous  diseases,  271 — 273. 
Mississippi,  population  of,  17. 
number  of  sheep  in,  17. 
pounds  of  wool  grown  in,  17. 
average  weight  of  fleeces  in,  18,  21 
woollen  factories  in,  17. 
woollen  goods  manufactured  in,  17. 
fine  wooled  sheep  bred  in,  27. 
latitude,  &c.,  of,  compared  with  Aus- 
tralian, 27. 
Missouri  Territory,  advantages  of,  for  sheep 

husbandry,  96—103. 
Modena,  advantages  of,  for  sheep  husbandry, 

113. 

Mogadore  wool,  90. 
Morea,  exports  of  wool  from,   110.      See 

Greece. 

Morocco.     See  Africa. 
Mountains  of  the   South.      See   Mountain 

zone,  under  head  of  Southern  States. 
Mud,  as  a  fertilizer.     See  Swamp  mud. 
Muriate  of  soda.     See  Salt. 
Muriatic  acid,  use  of,  in  sheep  medicine,  276. 
Mutton,  economical  food  for  slaves,  56,  57. 
its  effects  on  the  system  compared  with 

other  meats,  56. 

the  quality  of,   in  cufferent  breeds  of 
sheep,  153,  154,  158.    Also,  see  .the 
different  breeds, 
sheep,  the  English.      See  Southdowns, 

Leicesters,  and  Colswolds. 
sheep,  where  they  constitute  the  most 

profitable  variety,  153,  154. 
sheep,  comparison  between  varieties  of, 

153,  154. 
sheep,  unadapted  to  most  parts  of  the 

South,  154,  155. 

sheep,  less  profitable  in  the  South  than 
Merinos,  158. 


N. 


Naples,  advantages  of,  for  sheep  husbandry, 

113. 

Nasal  bones,  cut  of  the,  236. 
Native  sheep  (so  called)  of  the  U.  S.,  origin 

of,  130. 

general  characteristics  of,  131. 
crosses  with  other  breeds,  131,  164. 
policy  of  grading  up  with  the  Merino  in 

the  South,  164,  170. 
selection  of,  to  cross  with  Merinos,  170. 
do  not  cross  successfully  with  Saxons, 

164. 

Nerves,  the,  236. 
Nervous  diseases,  the,  251. 
New    England,    advantages    of,    for    wool 

growing,  95. 

New  Jersey,  advantages  of,  for  wool  grow- 
ing, 95. 

New  Leicester  sheep.     See  Leicester. 
New  Oxfordshire  sheep.     See  Colswolds. 
New  South  Wales.     See  Australia. 
York   population  of,  17. 


New  York,  sheep  introduced  in  by  the  Datdk 
colonists,  130. 

number  of  sheep  in,  17. 

pounds  of  wool  grown  in,  17. 

average  weight  of  fleeces  in,  18,  21. 

woollen  factories  in,  17. 

woollen  goods  manufactured  in,  17. 

grass  lands  of,  how  managed,  32. 

price  of  grazing  lands  in,  53. 

price  of  sheep  in,  53. 

cost  of  producing  wool  per  pound  in,  61. 

profits  of  wool  growing  in,  53 — 55. 
Nitrate  of  silver.     See  Lunar  caustic. 
Nitrate  of  potash,  use  of,  in  sheep  medicine 

276. 

Nitre.     See  Nitrate  of  potash. 
Nitric  acid,  use  of,  in  sheep  medicine,  276. 
North  Carolina,  population  of,  17. 

number  of  sheep  in,  17. 

amount  of  wool  grown  in,  17. 

average  weight  of  fleeces  in,  18,  21. 

woollen  factories  in,  17. 

woollen  goods  manufactured  in,  17. 

price  of  land  in,  44,  60. 

adaptation    of    mountain    lands    of,    to 

sheep  husbandry,  44—46. 
Norway,  exports  of  wool  from,  110. 

climate  and  flora  of,  104,  105. 
Numbering  sheep,  advantages  of,  178.    Se« 
Registering. 

Von  Thaer's  system  of,  179 

cuts  illustrating,  179. 


o. 


Oats,   value  of,  in  producing  live   weight, 

wool,  and  tallow,  214. 
per  cent,  of  nitrogen  in,  214. 
value  of  straw  of,  as  a  fodder,  213. 
straw  of,  fed  to  sheep  in  Germany,  211. 
Odessa,  exports  of  wool  from,  117. 
CEsophagus,  course  of  the,  234 — 236. 
entrance  of,  into  stomach,  228,  229. 
obstructions  of  the,  how  treated,  273. 
CEsophagean  canal, structure  and  functions  ol 

the,  229. 

OEstrus  ovis,  description  of,  256. 
natural  history  of,  256,  257. 
cuts  of,  256. 

Ohio,  advantages  of,  for  wool  growing,  90. 
Omentum,  description  of  the,  228. 
One  crop  system  of  the  South,  81. 

exhaustion  of  land  consequent  on  the, 

81,  82. 

exhaustion  of  land  consequent  on  the, 
De  Candolle's,  Macaire's,  Mirbel's, 
Braconnet's  and  Gyde's  theories  and 
experiments  on,  81. 

Opium,  use  of,  in  sheep  medicine,  276. 
Opthalmia,  treatment  of  the,  239. 
Orchard  grass,  unsuccessful  in  New  York, 

33. 

flourishes  on  the  southern  mountains, 62. 
Orkney,  wool  of,  90. 
Otter  sheep  of  the  U.  S.,  129. 
Ovaries,  the,  233. 


P. 


Palsy,  nature  and  treatment  of,  253. 
Pancreas,  structure  and  functions  of  the,  SSI. 
Panicum  milliaceum. 


INDEX. 


Panicuin  sanguinale.     See  Crab  grass. 
Papal  States,  advantages  of,  for  sheep  bus- 

bandryl    Page  113. 

Parietal  bone,  cut  of  a  section  of,  23<f. 
Parma,  advantages  of,  for  sheep  husbandry, 

113. 

Parotid  glands,  the,  236. 
Parturition.     See  Lambing. 
Pastures,  the  natural  ones  of  the  South,  33, 

34,  36,  44—48,  59,  60. 
how  formed  on  sterile  lands,  73—75. 
Patagonia,  portior.  of,  in  wool  zone,  105. 
Paunch.     See  Rumen. 
Peas  of  the  South,  39. 

substitute  for  clover  in  the  South,  39,41. 
value  of,  as  a  fodder,  39, 41,  213,  214. 
value  of,  in  the  production  of  live  weight, 

wool,  and  tallow,  214. 
per  cent,  of  nitrogen  in,  214. 
value  of,  as  a  green  manuring  crop,  74, 

75. 

what  time  plowed  under  for  green  ma- 
nure, 75. 
haulm  of,  valuable  as  a  fodder,  39,  213, 

214. 

haulm  of,  valuable  as  a  manure,  40. 
chemical  analysis  of,  39. 
Pedigree,  only,  value  of.  171. 
Pelt-rot,  description  and  treatment  of,  255. 
Pens  for  the    lambing    season,   how    con- 
structed, 177. 

Pennsylvania,  adaptation  of,  to  sheep  hus- 
bandry, 95. 
Pepper,  black,  use  of,  in  sheep  medicine, 

276. 

Pericardium,  the,  234. 
Persia,  advantages  of,  for  sheep  husbandry, 

104,  118. 
Peru,  exports  of  wool  from,  110. 

exports  of  wool  to  U.  S.  in  1846,  124. 
Pharynx,  the,  235,  236. 
Phleum  pratense.     See  Timothy. 
Phrenitis,  rare  in  U.  S.,  253. 
Pia  mater,  the,  236. 

Pimento,  use  of,  in  sheep  medicine,  276. 
Pindars,  value  of,  as  a  fodder,  213. 
Pinning,  fatal  to  lambs,  how  managed,  177. 
Pleura,  the,  234. 

Pleuritis,  little  known  in  U.  S.,  238. 
Pleurisy.     See  Pleuritis. 
Pneumonia,  nature  and  treatment  of,   239, 

240. 

Poa  pratensis.     See  Blue  grass. 
Poisonous  plants  to  sheep,  271. 
Portugal,  exports  of  wool  from,  110. 
Potatoes,   Irish,  as  a  winter  feed  for  sheep, 

41,213. 
value  of,  in  the  production  of  live  weight, 

wool,  and  tallow,  214. 
per  cent,  of  nitrogen  in,  214. 
sweet,  winter  feed  of  sheep,  41. 
Poudrette,  as  a  manure,  South,  67. 
Prairies  of  the  Western  States  described, 

95—107. 
advantages  on  the,  for  wool  growing, 

95—107. 

natural  grasses  of  the,  96—99. 
natural  grasses,  succulent  during  but  a 

short  season,  96,  97. 
natural  grasses,  rapidly  exterminated,  96. 
natural  grasses,  will  not  alone  support 

sheep,  96. 

natural   grasses,    make    poor   hay    for 
efc.eep,  98. 

2R 


Prairies  of  the  Western  States  will  not  pro 

duce  winter  pasturage,  98. 
time  of  winter  foddering  necessary  on, 

97. 
cost  of  sheep  husbandry  on,  compared 

with  Eastern  States,  99. 
cost  of  fuel,  fences  and  buildings  on,  99, 

100. 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  the  shepherd 

system  on,  100,  101. 
scarcity  of  water  on,  101. 
climate  of,  variable  and  excess.ve,  102, 

103. 
climate    of,    compared    with    Eastern 

States,  102. 
climate    of,    compared    with    Southern 

States,  102,  103. 
climate  of,  unfavorable  to  fine  wooled 

sheep,  103. 

Pregnant  ewes,  how  managed.     See  Ewes. 
Prussia,  for  general  description  of,  see  Ger- 
many, 114 — 116. 
exports  of  wool  from,  110. 
exports  of  woollens  from,  108. 
advantages  of,  for  sheep  husbandry,  116, 
climate  of,  104,  115. 
management  of  sheep  in,  139. 
Pulse,  place  for  feeling  the,  274. 

natural  rapidity  of,  274. 
Purging.     See  Diarrhoea, 
Pylorus,  the,  228,  231. 


R. 


Rabies,  uncommon  in  U.  S.,  253. 
Racks,  for  feeding  sheep,  200—203. 
box,  cut  and  description  of,  200. 
hole,  cut  and  description  of,  200. 
sparred,  cut  and  description  of,  201. 
hopper,  cut  and  description  of,  202. 
Rams,  method  of  castrating,  180,  181. 
dangerous  ones,  how  managed,  193. 
importance  of  careful  selection  in,  172. 
objections  to  several  running  in  the  sar;i€ 

flock  of  ewes,  197. 
necessity  of  selecting  ewes  in  reference 

to  quality  of,  197. 
proper  age  of,  to  put  to  ewes,  197. 
different  methods  of  putting  to  ewes, 

198. 

how  fed  when  running  with  ewes,  199. 
time  allowed  to  run  with  ewes,  199. 
number  of  ewes  those  of  different  ages 

will  serve,  197. 

not  allowed  to  run  with  ewes  in  sum- 
mer, 193. 
Rambouillet  Merino.   See  French  family  of, 

under  head  of  Merinos. 
Rape,  as  food  for  sheep,  62. 

flourishes  on  southern  mountains,  62. 
Rectum,  the,  232. 
Red-top.     See  Herds  grass. 
Red  water.     See  Dropsy,  acute. 
Registering  sheep,  Mr.  Grove's  and  author's 

method,  180. 
importance  of,  178. 
Respiratory  passages,  the,  235. 
Respiration,  how  produced,  234. 
Resting  lands,  meaning  of  the  term  'u  agn 

culture,  82. 
theory  of,  82. 
inexpediency  of,  82. 
Reticulum,  description  of  the,  226 


332 


INDEX. 


Reticulum,  functions  of  the.     Page  230. 

Rice,  value  of,  as  a  fodder,  213. 

Roots,  for  winter  feed  of  sheep,  213,  214, 

216. 

Root  troughs,  cut  of,  203. 
Rol,  not  known  in  most  parts  of  U.  S.,  222. 
other  diseases  mistaken  for,  222. 
kas  appeared  in  Tennessee  and  Illinois, 

222. 

prevalence  af,  in  Europe,  221,  222. 
causes  assigned  for  the,  223,  248,  249. 
symptoms  of  the,  247. 
post-mortem  appearances  of,  247. 
cuts  of  the  fluke-worm  of,  248. 
suddenness  with  which  it  is  engendered, 

249. 
English  custom  of  selling  rotted  sheep 

to  the  butcher,  249. 
treatment  of  the,  249,  250. 
Rotation  in  crops,  necessity  of,  81,  82. 
necessity  of,  in  the  South,  78—83. 
a  system  of,  recommended  for  the  South, 

83—85. 

Rumen,  structure  of  the,  228. 
cut  of  the,  228. 
functions  of  the,  229. 
unnatural  distension  of  the.     See  Hoove. 
Rumination,  the  process  of,  230. 
Russia,  climate  of,  104,  117,  118. 
soil  and  products  of,  117. 
face  of  the  country  in,  117. 
the  south  of,  advantages  of,  for  sheep 

husbandry,  117. 
the  south  of,  compared  with  Hungary, 

117. 
the  south  of,  compared  with  prairies  of 

the  U.  S.,  117. 

Merinos  introduced  in,  in  1802,  117. 
Merinos,  rapid  increase  of,  in,  117. 
exports  of  wool  from,  110,  117. 
exports  of  wool  to  U.  S.  in  1826,  124. 
Ruti  bagas,  as  sheep  feed,  213,  216. 
Rye,  for  winter  pasturage  in  the  South,  40, 

58. 
value   of  grain    of,    in    producing    live 

weight,  wool,  and  tallow,  214. 
per  cent,  of  nitrogen  in,  214. 
dry  straw  of,  value  of,  in  different  states, 

as  a  fodder,  213. 
fed  to  sheep  in  Germany,  211. 
R/e  grass,  unsuccessful  in  New  York,  33. 
flourishes  on  southern  mountains,  47,62. 


S. 


Sacking  wool,  how  performed,  189. 

proper  sacks  for,  189. 
Salt,  necessary  for  sheep  in  summer,  194. 

necessary  for  sheep  in  winter,  218. 

effect,  in  conjunction  with  fodders,  in  in- 
creasing live  weight,  wool,  and  tallow, 
214. 

as  a  medicine,  276. 

box,  for  salting  sheep,  cut  of,  194. 
Saltpetre,  use  of,  in  sheep  medicine,  276. 
Sainfoin,  33. 

fed  to  sheep  in  Germany,  211. 
Sardinia,  advantages  of,  for  sheep  husbandry, 

Saxon  sheep,  origin  of,  138. 
cut  of  ram,  138. 
varieties  rf,  139. 
microscopic  appearance  of  wool  of,  136. 


Saxon  sheep,  German  management  of,  11$ 

139. 

introduction  of,  into  U.  S.,  140,  141. 
deterioration  of  blood  of,  in  U.  S.,  141. 
quantity  and  quality  of  wool  of,  in  U.  S., 

wool  of,  in  U.  S.,  compared  with  parent 

stock,  141,  142. 
general  description  of,  141. 
defects  of,  as  breeders  and  nurses   139, 

141. 

defects  of,  in  hardiness,  139,  141. 
how  far  adapted  to  climate  in  northern 

states,  162. 
superseded   the   Merinos  for  a  time  in. 

U.  S.,  159. 

rapid  decrease  of,  in  the  U.  S.,  160. 
dislike  to,  among  northern  farmers,  162. 
compared  with  Merinos  for  growing  fine 

wool,  163. 
improved  by  a  cross  with  Merinos,  136, 

137,  141. 

crosses  of,  with  native  sheep,  141,  164. 
Saxony,  soils  of,  114. 
climate  of,  104,  115. 
face  of  the  country  in,  114. 
management  of  sheep  in,  116. 
Scab,  description  of,  258. 

cuts  of  the  acarus  producing  it,  259.     . 
habits  of  the  acarus,  258. 
circumstances  under  which  the  acarus 

makes  its  attacks,  258. 
short-wooled  sheep   comparatively  ex- 
empt from,  259. 
contagiousness  of,  259. 
prevalence  of,  in  England,  259. 
treatment  of,  260,  261. 
Scotland,  (included,  in  most  respects,  in  da 

scription  of  England.) 
exports  of  wool  from,  to  U.  S.  in  1846, 

124. 
mountains  of,  only  kept  in  pasture  by 

sheep,  71. 

Scours.     See  Diarrhoea. 
Sedge  grass,  eaten  by  sheep,  49. 
Selection,  annual  necessity  of,  in  flocks,  190. 
rules  for,  190. 

form  of  a  register  to  expedite,  190. 
Shade,  necessity  of,  in  sheep  pasture,  195. 
Shearing,  proper  time  of,  184. 

time  between,  and  washing,  184. 

cut  of  arrangements  for,  184. 

rules  and  regulations  for,  185,  186. 

of  lambs,  objected  to,  186. 

of  sheep,   serni-annually,   objected   to, 

186.     ' 
Sheds  for  sheep,  cuts  of,  205,  208 

the  cheapest,  208. 
Shelter  for  sheep   in  winter.      See   Shedt, 

Stills,  &c. 
Sheep,  bred  in  all  climates,  17. 

number  of,  in  the  southern  states  and  in 

New  York,  17. 
indispensable  for  support  of  poor  lands, 

71. 

indispensable  to  support  tillage  in  Eng- 
land, 71,  72. 
system  of  sustaining  tillage  lands  by,  in 

England,  71,  72. 
poor  lands  improved    by,    in   northtrrr 

states,  72. 
system  of  improving  poor  lands  by,  i'r 

the  South,  73—76. 
better  manurers  than  other  stock,  71, 72 


INDEX. 


333 


Sheep,  improve  the  character  of  the  vegeta- 
tion. Page  57. 

extirpators  of  briers  and  shrubs,  57. 

small  risk  by  death,  in  breeding,  57. 

impropriety  of  feeding,  in  yards  with 
other  stock,  in  winter,  210. 

comparison  of  breeds  of,  153,  154,  163, 
164. 

comparison  in  respect  to  weight  of  fleece, 

154,  156,  157. 

comparison  in  quality  of  wool,  154. 
comparison  in  consumption  of  food,  154, 

156. 
comparison  in   proportion  of  wool    to 

food  consumed,  156. 
comparison  in  hardiness,  156,  157. 
comparison  in  longevity,  156,  157. 
comparison  in  mutton,  153, 154,  158. 
comparison  in  bearing  hard  stocking,  154, 

155,  156. 

comparison  in  profitableness  in  the  South, 

156,  157. 

how  they  should  be  caught  and  other- 
wise handled,  174. 

washing  of.     See  Washing  sheep. 

shearing  of.     See  Shearing. 

(for  other  particulars  of  the  management 
of,  see  the  different  heads.) 

cordial,  how  compounded,  250. 

dogs,  of  the  ancients,  278,  279 

dogs,  of  Spain,  280—284. 

dogs,  of  Spain,  cut  of,  281. 

dogs,  of  France,  286. 

dogs,  of  Hungary,  284. 

dogs,  of  England,  287. 

dogs,  of  England,  cut  of,  287. 

dogs,  of  Scotland,  288. 

dogs,  of  Scotland,  cut  of,  288. 

dogs,  of  Mexico,  284—286. 

dogs,  of  South  America,  285. 

dogs,  sheep  must  be  familiarized  with, 

288. 
Silesia,  climate  of,  104,  115. 

face  of  the  country,  114. 

character  of  the  soil,  114. 
Slave  cloths,  description,  85,. 86,  89,  90. 

expense  of  imported,  85,  86,  89. 

actual  first  cost  of,  90,  91. 

great  profits  of  manufacturers  of,  90,  91. 

should  be  manufactured  in  the  southern 
states,  87. 

offers  of  northern  manufacturers  to  fur- 
nish below  present  prices,  90,  91. 

cost  of  manufacturing  as  good  or  better 
plains  in  the  north,  86. 

cost  of  manufacturing  "  at  the  halves," 
87. 

cost  of  manufacturing  by  hand  on  plan- 
tations, 89. 

Smith's  Island  sheep,  129. 
Smyrna  wools,  quality  of,  90. 
Snuffles.     See  Catarrh. 
South  America,  portion  of,  in  the  wool  zone, 
105. 

climate  of,  104,  105. 

exports  of  wool  from,  105. 

sheep  husbandry  in,  105. 

advantages  of,  for  wool  growing,  105, 
106. 

advantages  of,  compared  with  U.  S.,* 
105,  106. 

pampas  of,  compared  with  prairies  of 

thcep  dogs  of,  285. 


I  South  America,  for  other  particular  of,  see 

Buenos  Ayres,  &c. 
Southdown  sheep,  origin  of,  144. 
cut  of  ram,  145. 
cut  of  ewe,  146. 
cut  of  wool  viewed  through  microscope , 

145. 

general  description  of,  144,  145, 148, 154 
value  of,  as  a  mutton  sheep,  146,  147. 
weight  and  quality  of  fleeces  of,  146. 
wool  of,  deficient  in  felting  properties, 

145,  146. 

introduction  into  U.  S.,  147. 
South  Carolina,  population  of,  IT. 
number  of  sheep  in,  17. 
pounds  of  wool  grown  in,  v». 
average  weight  of  fleeces  in,  18,  21« 
woollen  factories  in,  17. 
woollen  goods  manufactured  in,  17. 
price  of  land  in,  59,  60. 
neglect  of  grass  culture  in,  31. 
hay  imported  into,  31. 
adaptation  of  soils  of,  to  grass  culture, 

31,  32,  34?  59,  80. 
adaptation  of  climate  of,  to  grass  culture. 

36. 

system  of  cropping  in,  32,  79. 
system  of  cropping  compared  with  New 

York,  32,  33. 

system  of  cropping,  change  in,  recom- 
"  mended  by  legislature,  79,  80. 
system    of   cropping,    utility    of  sheep 

husbandry  in  effecting  such  change  in, 

85. 

cost  of  keeping  sheep  in,  59,  60. 
winter  pasturage  for  sheep  in,  58 — 60. 
adaptation  of   mountains  of,   to    sheep 

pasture,  47,  59. 
present  method  of  managing  sheep  in, 

59,  60. 

wolves  in,  64. 
Southern  States,  what  states  included  under 

this  designation,  30. 
area  of,  30,  94. 

natural  features  and  geology  of,  30,  31. 
quality  of  soils  of,  30,  35,  42,  69. 
profits  of  sheep  husbandry  in,  58—62. 
profits   of,  compared    with    other    hus- 
bandry in,  76,  77. 

advantages  of,  for  sheep  husbandry,  77. 
advantages    of,    compared    with    othei 

states  and  countries.    See  Wool  grow 

'  *no' 

advantages  of,  for  migratory  sheep  hus- 
bandry, 62. 
advantages  of,  for  migratory  sheep  hua 

bandry,  compared  with  Spain,  62—64. 
expense  of  keeping  sheep  in,  59,  60. 
expense  per  pound,  of  growing  wool  in, 

61. 
expense  per  pound,  of  growing  wool  in, 

compared  with  New  York,  61. 
prejudice  in,  against  sheep  husbandry, 

and  causes  of,  72,  81. 
sheep  exposed  to  dogs  and  wolves  in,  64, 
compared  with  other  countries  in  above 

particular,  65. 

prices  of  land  in,  44,  46,  47,  60. 
amelioration   of  sterile    and   worn-out 

soils    of,    by   sheep    husbandry,    52, 

70—72. 
amelioration  of  stprile  and  worn-out  soili 

of,  by  sheep  husbandry,  more  cheaply 

than  by  the  available  manures,  67. 


334 


INDEX. 


Southern  Slates,  amelioration  of  sterile  and 
worn-out  soils  of,  by  sheep  husbandry, 
more  cheaply  than  by  marl.  Page 
68—70. 

amelioration  of  sterile  and  worn-out  soils 
by  sheep  husbandry, considered  cheap- 
est in  England,  71,  72. 

amelioration  of  sterile  and  worn-out  soils 
by  sheep  husbandry,  considered  cheap- 
est in  the  Northern  States,  73. 

amelioration  of  sterile  and  worn-out  soils 
by  sheep  husbandry,  why  preferable 
to  cattle  husbandry,  71,  72. 

amelioration  of  sterile  and  worn-out  soils 
by  sheep  husbandry,  other  means 
available  in  conjunction  with,  74,  75. 

method  of  forming  pastures  on  sterile 
soils  of,  73,  74. 

effect  of  present  one-crop  husbandry  in, 
78—81. 

sheep  husbandry,  basis  of  convertible 
husbandry  in,  52,  78. 

convertible  husbandry  in,  the  strong  ne- 
cessity for,  82. 

convertible  husbandry  in,  recommended 
by  a  committee  of  the  legislature  of 
South  Carolina,  79,  80. 

convertible  husbandry  in,  recommended 
in  Judge  Seabrook's  Report,  80. 

rotation  of  crops  for,  proposed,  83—85. 

should  rear  their  own  products  for  con- 
sumption, 76. 

should  manufacture  their  own  coarse 
woollens.  85—89. 

cost  of  manufacturing  and  importing 
these  in,  compared,  86 — 87,  89 — 93. 

cost  of  manufacturing  slave  cloths  in,  by 
hand,  88. 

divided  into  three  zones,  30. 

the  territorial  limits  of  these  zones,  30, 

31. 
tide- water  zone  of,  30. 

natural  features  and  geology  of,  30. 

quality  of  the  soil  of,  30,  35,  69. 

compared  with  portions  of  New  York, 

'  34. 

compared  with  Flanders,  35. 

how  ameliorated,  35,  68. 

adaptation  of,  to  the  grasses,  31 — 38. 

adaptation  of,  to  clover,  32,  36. 

adaptation  of,  to  other  fodders,  38—41. 

causes  of  failure  in  acclimating  grasses 
in,  31,  32. 

proper  grasses  to  introduce  in,  37 — 40. 

natural  grasses  of,  36,  37. 

natural  pastures  of,  33,  34. 

number  of  sheep  per  acre  which  could 
find  subsistence  in,  58,  94. 

winter  pasturage  of,  31,  40,  58,  59. 

prices  of  la'id  in,  60,  61. 

present  system  of  cropping  in,  32. 

climate  of,  adapted  to  growing  fine  wool, 

23—29. 
hi&y  zone  of,  30. 

face  of  the  country  and  geology  of,  42. 

qualify  of  the  soil,  42. 

method  of  enriching  soils  of,  72. 

adaptation  of,  to  grasses  and  grains,  27, 
42,  59. 

method  of  forming  pastures  in,  74. 

adaptation  to  sheep  husbandry,  43,  59. 

price  of  lands  in,  59,  61. 

climate  of  42,  59. 

ouality  of,  west  of  the  mountains,  51. 


Southern  States,  mountain  ?one  of,  30. 

altitude  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  AHegh&ny, 

and  Cumberland  chains,  43,  63. 
altitude  of,  compared  with  the   moon 

tains  of  Spain,  63. 
shape  of  the  mountains  of,  43. 
geology  of,  43. 

character  of  the  soil  of,  44,  46,  49. 
large  portions  of,  arable,  43. 
table  lands  on,  43. 
grasses  of,  43,  44,  47,  59,  62. 
white  and  red  clover,  lucern,  and  rye 

grass  flourish  on,  47. 
timothy  and  orchard  grass  flourish  on. 

44,  62. 
adaptation  of,  to  pasturage,  44 — 47,  59, 

62. 
adaptation  of,  to  sheep  husbandry  ,44 — 51, 

adaptation  of,  to  Hon.  T.  L.  Clingman's 
statements  concerning,  44,  45. 

adaptation  of,  to  Mr.  H.  M.  Earle's  state- 
ments concerning,  46. 

adaptation  of,  to  Col.  E.  Colston's  state- 
ments concerning,  47. 

adaptation  of,  to  Hon.  W.  L.  Goggins's 
statements  concerning,  47. 

adaptation  of,  to  Hon.  A.  Stevenson's 
statements  concerning,  47. 

adaptation  of,  to  Hon.  A.  Beatty's  state- 
ments concerning,  47. 

adaptation  of,  to  Mr.  C.  F.  Kramer's 
statements  concerning,  48. 

adaptation  of,  to  Hon.  R.  F.  Simpson's 
statements  concerning,  59. 

adaptation  of,  to  Mr.  N.  Murdoch  a 
statements  concerning,  62, 

.winter  pasturage  on,  47 — 49,  59. 

adaptation  of,  to  turnips  and  other  >x>d- 
ders,  62. 

climate  of,  44—51,  59. 

climate  of,  shown  by  vegetation  of,  50, 
51. 

climate  of,  compared  with  that  of  New 
York,  49,  50. 

price  of  lands  in,  44.  46,  47,  48,  59. 

wolves  in,  64. 
Spain,  sheep  husbandry  of,  62,  63. 

great  decrease  in  wool  growing  in,  111. 

migratory  sheep  husbandry  of,  and  its 
disadvantages,  113. 

advantages  ot,  for  migratory  sheep  hus- 
bandry, compared  with  those  of  south- 
ern states,  62,  63. 

evil  effects  of  the  Mesta  in,  113. 

height,  climate,  and  vegetation  of  moun 
tains  0^  62,  112. 

general  advantages  of,  for  sheep  hus- 
bandry, 62,  63,  112. 

soil  and  products  of,  112. 

number  of  sheep  in,  112. 

decreased  exports  of  wool  from,  110,111. 

exports  of  wool  to  U.  S.  in  1836  and 
1846,  111,  124. 

other  exports  from,  112. 

sheep  dogs  of,  280—284. 
Speaf4' grass.    See  Slue  grass. 
Spergula  arvensis.     See  Spurry. 
Sphenoid  bone,  cut  of,  236. 
Spirit  of  salt.     See  Muriatic  acid. 

of  tar,  use  of,  in  sheep  practice,  277. 
Spleen,  structure  and  functions  cf  the,  231 

232. 
Spurry,  as  a  green  manuring  crop,  South,  74. 


INDEX 


335 


Staggers.     See  Hydalid  in  the  brain. 
Stefl,  description  of  the.     Pago  206,  207. 

cut  of  outside  one,  205. 

cut  of  ancient  ones,  206. 

cut  of  inside  circular  ones,  207. 

cut  of  circular  one,  with  racks, &c.,  207. 
Sternum,  the,  228. 

St.  Helena,  exports  of  wool  from,  110. 
Stomachs  of  the  sheep,  description  of,  228 — 
231. 

cuts  of  the,  228. 

structure  and  functions  of  each  of  the, 
228,  229. 

course  of  the  food  through  the,  229,  230. 

conflicting  theories  concerning,  230. 
•Storing  wool,  189.    Also  see  Wool  depots. 
Storms,  bad  effects  of  cold  ones  after  shear- 
ing, 191. 

Sturdy.     See  Ilydatid  in  the  brain. 
Sulphate  of  copper,  use  of,  in  sheep  prac- 
tice, 275. 

Sulphate  of  magnesia,  use  of,  in  sheep  prac- 
tice, 275. 

Sulphur,  use  of,  in  sheep  medicine,  276. 
Sun-scald,  cause  and  treatment  of,  191. 
Swamp  mud,  its  value  as  a  fertilizer,  70. 
Sweden,  exports  of  wool  from,  110. 
Sweet-bread.     See  Pancreas. 
Syria,  climate  of,  104. 

adaptation  of,  to  sheep  husbandry,  117, 
118. 


T. 


Table  1.  Of  population,  number  of  sheep, 
pounds  of  wool,  woollen  factories,  and 
value  of  manufactured  goods  in  south- 
ern states  and  in  New  York,  17. 

2.  Of   average    weight    of    fleeces    in 
southern  states  and  New  York,  18,  20, 
21. 

3.  Of  average  weight  of  fleeces  in  four 
counties  of  each  of  the  above  states, 
20. 

4.  Of  comparative  value  of  manures, 40. 

5.  Of  the  flowering  of  plants,  &c.,  in 
New  York,  49. 

6.  Of   thermometrical  observations    in 
New  York,  50. 

7.  Of  the  average  prices  of  wool  in  New 
York,  53. 

8.  Of  importations  of  wool  into  Eng- 
land every  fifth  year,  from  1810  to 
1840,  110. 

9.  Of  importations  of  wool  into  U.  S. 
annually,  from  1837  to  1846,  124. 

10.  Of  importations  of  wool  into  U.  S. 
in  1846,  with  countries  from  which 
imported,  124. 

11.  Of  woollens  annually  imported  into 
U.  S.,  during  twenty-five  years,  125. 

12.  Of  increase  of  population  in  U.  S., 
from  1790  to  1840,  127. 

13.  Of  increase  of  population  and  amount 
of  wool  required  in  U.  S.,  at  different 
periods,  for  one  hundred  and  fifteen 
years,  128. 

14.  Of  the  progressive  reductions  in  du- 
ties on  wool  and  woollen,  under  the 
"  Compromise  Tariff"  of  1833,  159. 

Tagging,  necessity  of,  173. 
how  performed,  173,  174. 
cut  explanatory  of,  173. 


Tar,  propriety  of  feeding  of,  to  sheep,  194. 

uses  of,  in  sheep  practice,  277. 
Tariffs  on  wool,  of  France,  106. 
of  England,  106. 

of  U.  S.,  on  wools  and  woollens,  enacted 
in  the  years  1824,  1828,   1832,  1833, 
1841,  1842,  and  1846,  158,  159. 
effect  of  those  of  U.  S.  on  the  prices  of 

wool,  159,  160. 
effect  of  those  of  U.  S.  on  importation! 

of  wool,  159,  160. 
effect  of  those  of  U.  S.  on  importation* 

of  woollens,  160. 

effect  of  those  of  U.  S.  on  domestic  pro- 
duction of  wool,  159. 
effect  of  those  of  U.  S.  .on  *he  quality 

of  domestic  wool,  159,  160. 
frauds    practised    in    invoicing    coarse 
wools  imported  into  U.  S.,  under  that 
of  1842,  107. 
effect  of  that  of  1846  on  manufactures 

of  U.  S.,  106,  125,  126,  161. 
effect  of  fluctuations  in,   on  manufac- 
tures, 126. 

Tasmania.     See  Australia. 
Taurida.     See  Crimea. 
Taylor,  Col.  John,  of  Virginia,  his  erroneous 
views  in  relation  to  sheep  husbandry, 
72,  81. 

Teeth,  number  and  description  of,  237. 
indicative  of  the  age,  237. 
cuts  of,  at  different  ages,  237. 
difference  in  the  retention  of,  by  different 

breeds,  238. 

causes  of  premature  loss  of,  238. 
should  be  removed  in  some  cases,  238. 
Temperature,   influence  of,    on  quality  of 

wool.     See  Climate. 
Tennessee,  population  of,  17. 
number  of  sheep  in,  17. 
pounds  of  wool  grown  in,  17. 
average  weight  of  fleeces  in,  18,  21. 
woollen  factories  in,  17. 
woollen  manufactured  in,  17. 
fine  wooled  sheep  introduced  in;  27. 
fine  wooled  sheep,  wool  of,  not  deterio- 
rated in,  27. 
adaptation  of,  to  sheep  husbandry,  27, 

48. 
adaptation,  of   mountains   of,   to  sheep 

husbandry,  48. 
price  of  lands  in,  47,  48. 
Tetanus,  unusual  in  U.  S.,  253. 
Thibet,  advantages  of,  for  sheep  husbandry, 

118. 

wool  exported  from,  118. 
Thoracic  duct,  the,  231. 
Thoracic  viscera,  the,  234. 
Thorax,  the,  234. 
Thyroid  glands,  the,  236. 

diseases  of  the,  270,  271. 
Ticks,  mode  of  destroying,  and  keeping  out 

of  flock,  192. 
Tobacco,  use  of,  in  sheep  practice,  277. 
Timothy,  the  favorite  meadow  grass,  North 

33. 

as  the  food  of  sheep,  212. 
success  on  southern  low.ands  question* 

able,  37. 

succeeds  on  southern  mountains,  44,  62 
Toe-nippers,  description  and  use  of,  103 

cut  of,  183. 

Tory  weed.     See  Hound" s-tongue. 
Trees,  clumps  of,  for  winter  stielter,  207. 


INDEX. 


Trifolium  repens.  See  Clover,  while. 
Trifolium  pratense.  See  Clover,  red. 
Troughs,  for  feeding  roots  or  grain.  Page  203, 

for  feeding  roots  or  grain,  cuts  of,  203. 

for  folding  wool,  187. 

for  folding  wool,  cut  of,  187. 
Tunica  arachnoides,  the,  236. 
Tunisian  sheep,  introduced  into  U.  S.,  151 

character  of,  151,  152. 
Turbinated  bones,  cut  of  the,  236. 
Turnips,  succeed  on  the  southern  mountains, 
62. 

how  fed  off  by  sheep  in  England,  72. 

value  of,  as  a  fodder,  213,  216. 

Swedish.     See  Ruta  laga. 
Turnsick.     See  Hydalid  in  the  brain. 
Turpentine,  spirits  of,  use  of,  in  sheep  prac- 
tice, 277. 
Turkey,  soils  and  climate  of,  118. 

soils  and  climate  of,  in  Europe,  114. 

face  of  the  country  in,  114. 

population  of,  114. 

institutions  of,  unfavorable  to  sheep  hus- 
bandry, 114. 

exports  of  wool  from,  109,  110. 

exports  of  carpets,  108. 
Tuscany,    advantages    of,    for    sheep    hus- 
bandry, 113. 
Typhus  fever,  not  common  in  U.  S.,  238. 


U. 


tkraine,  Merinos  introduced  in,  117. 

advantages  of,  for  sheep  husbandry,  117. 
States,  number  of  sheep  and  pounds 
of  wool  in,  in  1839,  123. 

breeds  of  sheep  in,  129. 

exports  of  wool  to  England  for  thirty 

years  from,  110. 
'  exports  of  wool  in  1845,  1846,  122. 

anrma^  imports  of  wool  of,  from  1837  to 
1843,  124. 

annua.  imports,  from  what  countries,  in 
1846,  124. 

annual  imports  of  woollens,  from  1821 
to  1845,  125. 

annual  consumption  of  woollens  in,  126, 
127. 

annual  consumption  of  woollens  in,  per 
head  of  population,  127. 

proportion  of  woollens  consumed  in,  do- 
mestic, 126. 

proportion  of  woollens  consumed  in,  im- 
ported, 126. 

proportion  of  domestic  made  in  manufac- 
tories, 126. 

proportion  of  domestic  made  in  families, 
126. 

increase  of  population  in,  127. 

amount  of  wool  which  will  be  requisite 
for  population  of,  at  different  periods, 
for  one  hundred  and  fifteen  years, 
128. 

adaptation  of,  to  sheep  husbandry.  See 
Southern  States,  New  England,  Prai- 
ries, and  the  states  by  name. 

adaptation  of,  to  sheep  husbandry,  com- 
pared with  Germany,  116. 

adaptation  of,  to  sheep  husbandry,  Mr. 
Grove's  opinion  concerning,  116. 

adaptation  of,  to  sheep  husbandry,  com- 
pared with  other  countries  See  Wool 
grousing. 


United  States,  woollen  manufactories  of.  Sef 

Woollen  factories. 
tariffs  of,  on  wool.     See  Tariffs. 
(for  all  other  particulars  concerning,  «ee 
names  of  the   things  in  relation    .0 
which  information  is  sought.) 
Uraguay,  in  the  wool  zone,  105. 
Ureters,  the,  233. 
Urethra,  the,  233. 

Urinary  organs,  description  of  the,  233. 
Uterus,  description  of  the,  233. 


V. 


Vagina,  description  of  (he,  233. 

Van  Diemen's  Land.     See  Australia. 

Veins,  description  of  the,  234. 

Vena  cava,  the,  234. 

Ventricles,  the,  234. 

Verdigris,  use  of,  in  sheep  practice,  277. 

Vetches,  dried  into  hay,  value  of,  as  a  fodder, 

213. 
Veterinary  works,  character  of  American, 

219. 

character  of  English,  219. 
how  far  English  ones  are  applicable  in 

U.  S.,  220? 

Virginia,  population  of,  17. 
number  of  sheep  in,  17. 
wool  grown  in,  17. 
average  weight  cf  fleeces  in,  18,  21 
woollen  factories  in,  17. 
woollen  goods  manufactured  in,  17. 
adaptation  of,  to  sheep  husbandry,  42, 

47,  60. 
adaptation   of  mountains   of,   to  sheep 

husbandry,  47. 
adaptation  of  north-western,   to  sheep 

husbandry,  60. 

winter  herbage  on  mountains  of,  62. 
winter  pasturage  in  other  parts  of,  60. 
cost  of  keeping  sheep  in,  60,  61. 
price  of  lands  in,  60. 
Vitriol,   blue,   value   of,  in  sheep  practice. 

275. 

green,  use  of,  in  sheep  practice,  9,75. 
oil  of,  as  a  caustic  in  sheep  orac^ce,  27G. 

w. 

Washing  sheep,  cut  of  apparatus,  for,  181. 

vats  and  yards  for,  181. 

directions  for,  182. 

time  to  elapse  after,  before  shearing,  184. 
Water  necessary  for  drink  of  sheep,  195, 218. 
Weaning  lambs,  proper  time  for,  19'». 

how  managed,  195. 
Welsh  plains,  for  slave  cloths.     See  Slave 

cloths. 

Wheat,  value  of,  in  producing  live  weight, 
wool,  and  tallow,  214. 

per  cent,  of  nitrogen  in,  214. 

straw  of,  value  ot,  in  different  strtes,  c* 
a  fodder,  213. 

fed  to  sheep  in  Germany,  211. 

chaff  of,  value  of,  as  a  fodder,  213. 

bran  of,  value  of,  as  a  fodder,  213. 
Wind-pipe,  the,  235. 
Winter  feed.     See  Fodders. 
Wire  grass.     See  Bermuda  grass. 
Wirtemberg,  advantages  of,  for  sheep  hn» 
bandry,  114. 


INDEX. 


337 


Wisconsin,  advantages  of,   for  sheep  hus- 
bandry.   Page  95—103. 
Wolves,  in  the  Southern  States,  64. 

how  guarded  against,   65.      See   Sheep 

dogs. 

Wool,   zone  in  which  it  can  be  profitably 
grown,  103,  104. 

fabrics  of.     See  Woollens. 

chemical  analysis  of,  214. 

quality  of  that  of  different  breeds  com- 
pared, 154. 

growth  of,  influenced  by  quantity  of 
feed,  28. 

growth  of,  influenced  by  kind  of  feed, 
214. 

quality  of,  influenced  by  climate,  23 — 29. 

quality  of,  influenced  by  climate,  opinions 
of  eminent  judges  on  this  point,  23 — 
29. 

grows  softer  and  longer  in  warm  cli- 
mates, 28,  29. 

quality  of,  made  coarser  by  abundant 
feed,  23. 

can  this  tendency  of  abundant  feed  to 
coarsen,  be  counteracted  ?  24,  28. 

felting  property  of,  accounted  for,  137. 

terms  used  to  express  different  qualities 
of,  161. 

fine,  proper  characteristics  of,  167,  168. 

fine,  proper  amount  of  yolk  and  gum 
of,  167. 

fine,  proper  length  of,  167. 

fine,  proper  evenness  of,  167. 

fine,  proper  softness  and  elasticity  of, 
168. 

fine,  proper  serrations  of,  168. 

fine,  proper  color  and  brilliancy  of,  168. 

Merino  and  Saxon  compared,  163. 

cuts  of  Merino  and  Saxon,  135—137. 

middle  character  and  uses  of,  110,  145, 
146. 

middle  character  of,  the  sheep  which  pro- 
dace  it,  145. 

cut  of  the  Southdown,  145. 

long,  character  and  uses  of,  143,  151. 

long,  character  of  the  sheep  which  pro- 
duce it,  143,  149,  151. 

cut  of  Leicester,  136. 

comparative  profit  of  growing  fine  and 
coarse  in  U.  S.,  154—163. 

comparative  value  of  fine  and  coarse  for 
strength  and  wear,  157,  158. 

not  a  fair  discrimination  in  prices  of, 
made  by  manufacturers  of  U.  S.,  160. 

promised  improvement  in  above  parti- 
cular, 161. 

shrinkage  of,  in  manufacturing,  86,  88, 
91. 

prices  of,  in  New  York,  for  fourteen 
years,  53. 

prices  of,  in  England,  25. 

amount  of,  grown  in  U.  S.,  123. 

amount  of,  grown  in  Southern  States,  17. 

amount  of,  grown  in  New,  York,  17. 

average  weight  of,  per  fleece,  in  Southern 
States,  18,  20. 

average  weight  of,  per  fleece,  in  New 
York,  18,  21,  53. 

amount  of,  grown  in  U.  S.,  does  not 
meet  home  consumption,  123—126. 

amount  of,  annually  grown  in  U.  S.,  123. 

•mount  of,  consumed  in  U.  S.,  123 — 127. 

amount  of,  consumed  per  head  ir  U  S., 
127. 


Wool,  amount  of,  imported  into  U.  S.,  front 

1821  to  1846,  124,  125. 
amount  of,  exported  from  U.  S.,  122. 
amount  of,  manufactured  in  U.  S.,  126 

127. 
amount  of,  required  to  supply  demand  'n 

U.  S.,  at  different  future  periods.  128 
table  of  imports  of,  into  England,  110, 
table,  brought  down  to  1846,  294. 
increase   in    amount   of,  imported   into 

England,  from  1771  to  1840,  123. 
increase   in  amount  of,   imported    into 

England,  from  1840  to  1846,  294, 
increasing  demand  for,  throughout  tn« 

world,  123. 
one  of  the  most  marketable  agricultural 

products,  77. 
amount  of,  grown  in  different  countries. 

See  names  of  countries, 
comparative  profits  of  growing  m  differ- 
ent countries.     See  Wool  growing. 
can  be  more  profitably  grown  in  southern 

than  northern  U.  S.,  163. 
will  northern   compete   with  Southern 

States  in  growing  ?  162. 
method  of  washing,  181. 
method  of  washing,  cut  of  arrangements 

for,  181. 

method  of  shearing,  184. 
method  of  shearing,  cuts  of  arrange- 

ments  for,  184. 

method  of  doing  up,  187 — 189. 
method  of  doing  up,  cut  of  arrangements 

for,  187,  188. 

method  of  storing  in  wool  room,  189. 
method  of  sacking,  189. 
room  for  storing,  how  arranged,  189. 
depots,  origin  and  objects  pC  289.  290. 
depots,  plan  and  regulations  of,  290. 
depots,  advantages  of,  291. 
depots,  peculiarly  advantageous  to  the 

southern  wool  grower,  292. 
Woollens,  some  processes  and  facts  in  manu- 
facturing of,  described,  87,  88. 
amount  of,  made  in  factories  of  U.  S., 

126,  127. 
amount  of,   made  in  families  in  U.  S., 

126,  127. 
amount  of,  made  in  Southern  States  in 

1839,  17. 
amount  of,  made  in  New  York,  in  1839, 

amount  made  in  families  decreasing,  and 

causes,  89. 
amount  imported  into  U.  S.,  from  1821 

to  1845,  125. 

amount  consumed  in  U.  S.,  126,  127. 
amount  consumed  per  head  in  U.  S., 

127. 
amount  required  for  future  consumption 

in  U.  S.,  128. 

for  slaves.     See  SJave  cloths. 
Woollen    factories,    table  o*>,    in  Southern 

States,  and  in  New  York,  in  1839,40, 
rapid  increase  of,  in  the  North,  86. 
further  increase  of,  called  for,  125,  126. 

128. 
great  profits  of,  in  the  North,  86 — 93, 

125,  161. 
would  be  equally  profitable  in  the  South, 

86. 

stability  of,  inU.  S.,  125,  126,  161. 
foreign   competition   defied   by, 

oresent  tariff,  125. 


B38 


INDEX. 


Woollen    factories,    injured   by   vacillating 

legislation.    Page  126. 
Wool  growing,  probable  increase  or  decrease 

of,  in  various  countries,  121,  122. 
in  U.  S.,  advantages  for.    See  names  of 

states  and  regions. 
in  Alabama,  42",  47,  60. 
in  Florida,  42,  60. 
in  Georgia,  42,  47,  60. 
in  Illinois,  27,  95—103. 
in  Indiana,  95—103. 
in  Iowa,  95—103. 
in  Kentucky,  27,  47,  48. 
in  Louisiana,  18,  30,  38. 
in  Mississippi,  27,  38. 
in  Missouri  Territory,  95—103. 
in  New  England,  95. 
in  New  Jersey,  95. 
in  North  Carolina,  43 — 46. 
in  Ohio,  95. 
in  Pennsylvania,  95. 
on  prairies,  95 — 103. 
in  South  Carolina,  47,  58—60. 
in  Tennessee,  27,  48. 
in  Virginia,  42,  47,  60. 
in  Wisconsin,  95—103. 
Wool  growing  in.   foreign    countries.    See 

names  of  countries, 
in  Afghanistan,  118. 
in  Asia  Minor,  118. 
in  Australia,  25,  119—121,  294. 
in  Austria,  114—116. 
in  Baden,  114. 
in  Bavaria,  114. 
in  Beloochistan,  118. 
in  Buenos  Ayres,  105,  106. 
in  Cabul,  118. 

in  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  65,  119. 
in  China,  118. 
in  Crimea,  117. 
in  England,  111. 
in  France,  111. 
in  Germany,  114 — 116. 
in  Great  Bucharia,  118. 
in  Greece,  114. 
in  Hungary,  116,  117. 
in  Independent  Tartary,  118. 
in  Italy,  113. 
in  Loin  barely,  113. 


Wool  growing,  in  Mexico,  105. 
in  Modena,  113.. 
in  Naples,  113. 
in  Papal  States,  113. 
in  Parma,  113. 
in  Persia,  104,  118. 
in  Prussia,  114,  116. 
in  Russia,  117. 
in  Sardinia,  113. 
in  Saxony,  116, 
in  Silesia,  104,  114,  115. 
in  South  America,  105,  106. 
in  Spain,  62,  112. 
in  Turkey,  114,  118. 
in  Tuscany,  113. 
in  Ukraine,  117. 
in  Van  Diemen's  Land,  121. 
in  Wirtemberg,  114. 

Wool  market,  of  the  world,  108,  109,  123. 
of  England,  108,  110,  294. 
of  France,  108,  109. 
of  German  States,  114,  295,  296. 
of  United  States,  123—128. 
foreign  producers  cannot  compete  with 

us  in  that  of  U.  S.,  108,  122,  123. 
U.  S.  producers  can  compete  in  foreign 

with  foreign  producer,  108,  122,  296. 
prospect  of  increase  in,  universally,  123 

296. 
Wool  oil.    See  Yolk. 


Y. 


Yards  for  sheep  in  winter,  199. 

necessary  in  the  North,  200. 
Yoking  rams,  how  done,  193. 
Yolk  of  wools,  chemical  analysis  of,  182. 

proper  amount  of,  in  fleece,  167. 
Youatt,  his  character  as  a  veterinary  writer, 
219. 


z. 


Zinc,  carbonate  of,  use  of,  in  sheep  practice, 

27. 

sulphate  of,  use  of,  in  sheep  practice, 
239. 


APPENDIX. 

SUKEP  HUSBANDRY  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA 201 

BSEE?  HUSBANDRY  IN  TEXAS , $06 

>HESP  RAISING  IN  TEXAS .,„...        .  €80 


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